Pitcher Chris Johnson, who played for six years in professional baseball Hiroshima until last season and won the Sawamura Award for his third consecutive league title, will retire.
Pitcher Johnson has a characteristic of pitching by making use of sharp fastballs and various changing balls, and contributed to the league's third straight victory from 2016 to 2018 as the starting lineup on the left.
Among them, in 2016, he won the Sawamura Award with a record of 15 wins and 7 losses and an earned run average of 2.15.
After playing for six years in Hiroshima and leaving after the end of last season, the team announced on the 18th that pitcher Johnson will be retiring.
Through the baseball team, Pitcher Johnson said, "The most brilliant thing in my baseball life was when I played at Carp, and I think I was able to achieve many things, such as winning the long-awaited league title, pitching in the Japan Series, and winning the Sawamura Award. I will continue to thank the Carp fans and baseball teams for giving me the opportunity to play my beloved baseball. Japan and Hiroshima have become my second homes. Someday I will come back to Japan again. I am looking forward to the day when I can visit Hiroshima and watch the Carp game. "
Declined to represent the United States Olympics "Remember as a member of Carp"
Also, according to the team, pitcher Johnson was asked to join the American national team at the Tokyo Olympics, but he declined because he wanted to "remember that he was a member of Carp." is.