The last Japanese player to appear in the World Series was Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, who made it with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020, his first MLB season. Tsutsugo was hitless in three at-bats as his Rays lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.
It has been even longer since any Japanese players appeared on the winning side of the Fall Classic. The last time that happened was back in 2013, when reliever Junichi Tazawa and star closer Koji Uehara won with the Boston Red Sox (Norichika Aoki received a ring from the Houston Astros in 2017, but he was traded away before the postseason). Both made five appearances in the series and Uehara, who had a pair of saves, retired the St. Louis Cardinals in order in the ninth inning of Game 6 to clinch the title.
The 2024 postseason begins on Tuesday, when another group of players will have the chance to join the ranks of Japanese World Series champions.
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