Daisuke Matsuzka might think twice before attending future fan events in Japan.
Matsuzaka, 38, recently suffered a shoulder injury after an excited fan pulled his throwing arm during an event at spring training in Okinawa, Japan, the Chunichi Dragons announced Tuesday, via ESPN. The former Major League Baseball player was diagnosed with inflammation in his throwing arm and will not resume throwing for the foreseeable future.
Matsuzaka last pitched in the majors in 2014, when he went 3-3 with a 3.89 ERA in 34 appearances (nine starts) for the New York Mets. “Dice-K,” of course, is most known for his time with the Boston Red Sox, for whom he pitched from 2007, when he won a World Series championship, to 2012. The Tokyo native underwent Tommy John surgery in 2011.
Matsuzaka returned to Nippon Professional Baseball in 2015 with the SoftBank Hawks, but he had shoulder surgery that summer. He pitched just one inning in three seasons before joining the Dragons in 2018.
He went 6-4 with a 3.74 ERA last season and won the NPB’s Comeback Player of the Year award.
