Daisuke Matsuzaka is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball in the United States. He previously played for the Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League. He was selected the MVP of the inaugural and the second World Baseball Classic, and is an Olympic bronze medalist. Matsuzaka was born on September 13, 1980, in Kanita, Aomori Prefecture. He was named after Japanese high school star pitcher Daisuke Araki. Growing up in Koto, Tokyo, he studied kendo from the age of five to nine and began playing organized baseball when he was in 3rd grade. After... excelling at the Little League and junior high level, Daisuke Matsuzaka was admitted into Yokohama High School, a baseball powerhouse, in the spring of 1996. By his second of three years, he had developed into the school's ace pitcher. Despite his early success, he would experience a setback that summer when he allowed a go-ahead wild pitch in the semi-final game of the Kanagawa Prefecture preliminary round of the National High School Baseball Championship .
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| Birthdate: | September 13, 1980 |
| Birthplace: | Aomori |
| Age: | 31 |
| Height: | 6' 0" |
| Weight: | 185 lbs. |
| All Positions Played: | Pitcher |
| Also known as: | Daisuke Matsuzaka, Matsuzaka, Daisuke, 松坂 大輔 |