Baseball History: 10 best players who never made the Majors
By David Hill
Eiji Sawamura – Pitcher
Of all the players on this list, Eiji Sawamura was one of the closest to being a major league player. He just had no interest in playing in the United States.
Sawamura first came to the attention of the majors during an exhibition game in Japan. As a 17 year old facing a team of MLB All Stars, he struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Charlie Gehringer, and Jimmie Foxx. Over his five innings, he allowed just one hit, a solo homer by Gehrig, as he took the loss. Later, he was part of a tour of the US, with his team winning 93 of the 102 games they played.
That performance earned the attention of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Connie Mack. Both teams attempted to sign him, but Sawamura refused. Hostilities towards the United States were at an all time high back then, and he stated that he just could not force himself to like Americans.
Back in Japan, he became one of the early stars in early days of what would become Nippon Pro Baseball. He threw the first no hitter in the history of professional Japanese baseball in 1936, and added another no hitter the following year. Despite ruining his shoulder during his mandatory military service, Sawamura threw a third no hitter in 1940, cementing his legacy.
He would not get the chance to add to his legacy. As World War Two escalated, and Japan attempted to hold on to their territories in the Pacific, Sawamura was recalled to active duty. On December 2, 1944, his transport ship was sunk off the coast of Taiwan, as he passed away at 27 years old.
Sawamura is remembered today, as the Japanese version of the Cy Young award was named in his honor. He was posthumously inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 1959. Even today, his legacy lives on amongst the great pitchers that the island nation has produced.
One has to wonder what would have happened had Eiji Sawamura had been a part of a different political climate. Had those tensions between Japan and America not existed, he could have been the first Japanese player to pitch in the majors, beating Masanori Murakami by over two decades.