To honor Japanese tradition, Kuwata carefully walked to the McKechnie Field mound about an hour after the Tigers-Pirates exhibition game ended and, without stepping on the white-painted pitching rubber, carefully placed a ball atop it.
More than 50 Japanese reporters and photographers watched the ceremony, some with visible emotion. Kuwata is a beloved baseball figure back home after spending his career with the country’s signature team, the Yomiuri Giants.
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Kuwata was 173-141 with a 3.55 ERA in 442 career games with the Yomiuri Giants and was chosen the league’s pitcher of the year in 1987.
Ember Nickel could do something great with this.
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