Is Takuya Asao the next great Japanese closer? He might have to be, because as age creeps up on some of the league's top firemen, the next generation will soon have to step up and prove its worth.
Japanese baseball will soon be entering a phase where a veritable who's who of closers will be calling time on their careers and making way for younger stars to stake their claim.
Right now, the numbers show the standard bearer among closers is still Asao's Chunichi Dragons teammate Hitoki Iwase, who will go down as one of the greats.