To borrow the words of his manager, retiring star pitcher Daisuke Miura was a "professional player."
That's how BayStars manager Alex Ramirez described the Yokohama legend. A few hours before Miura's final start, Ramirez mused about the career of a man who was one of his rivals, then a teammate and now one of the players under his stewardship in Yokohama.
"He was never a power pitcher, but he knew how to pitch," Ramirez said during batting practice at Yokohama Stadium on Thursday. "He knew the difference between pitching against Nihonjin players and gaikokujin players, he knew how to pitch against both. He knew how to play the game. Those things are very important, especially since throughout his time so many good players passed by. He was able to maintain as the team ace. He went from generation to generation and he was still a very good pitcher.
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