{
  "id": 17558782,
  "title": "Baseball: Fighters' Sawamura Award-winning right-hander Ito posted",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/baseball-fighters-sawamura-award-winning-right-hander-ito-posted",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-01T07:45:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Mainichi",
    "slug": "the-mainichi",
    "url": "https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20261101/p2g/00m/0sp/020000c"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nippon Ham Fighters' right-handed pitcher Hiromi Ito, 29, has been posted in search of a move to Major League Baseball (MLB) during the offseason, as reported by Kyodo on Sunday. Ito, who has maintained double-digit wins in all but one of his six professional seasons, led the Pacific League (PL) with 14 victories in 2024 and earned the Eiji Sawamura Award for the best starting pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in 2025.\n\nSpeaking from Hokkaido, Ito expressed his lifelong aspiration to play in MLB, stating, \"Playing in the majors has been a dream of mine since I was little, and one of the things that I've always aimed for.\" Signed by the Samurai Japan team for the 2023 and this year's World Baseball Classic, Ito is known for his sharp breaking balls and fastballs exceeding 150 kilometers per hour.\n\nThis season, Ito went 10-10 with a 3.18 ERA, and his career record in NPB stands at 65-51 with a 2.92 ERA across 152 outings. An NPB player can transition to MLB via an international free agent status, gained after nine years of professional play, or through the posting system, where his club agrees to accept a release fee if he signs abroad.",
  "summary": "SAPPORO (Kyodo) -- Nippon Ham Fighters right-hander Hiromi Ito has been posted as he seeks a move to MLB during the offseason, the Pacific League club",
  "key_points": [
    "Nippon Ham Fighters pitcher Hiromi Ito seeks MLB move",
    "Ito leads Pacific League with 14 wins in 2024",
    "Ito earned Eiji Sawamura Award for best starting pitcher in 2025"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The posting of a decorated Sawamura Award winner signals the Fighters' willingness to trade elite pitching stability for the financial benefits of the international transfer system.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}