Koji Uehara Custom Art Card

A unique piece of original art, featuring Koji Uehara of the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants.

Ever since being picked by the Yomiuri Giants with the first pick of the 1998 draft, Uehara was a sensation, performing well consistently during the regular season and stepping up to the moment in the biggest games in NPB, MLB, and the World Baseball Classic.

His NPB resume is enough to make him one of the most decorated pitchers in history:

• 9× All-Star (1999–2005, 2007, 2018)
• 2× Japan Series champion (2000, 2002)
• 2× Eiji Sawamura Award (1999, 2002)
• Triple Crown (1999)
• Central League Rookie of the Year (1999)
• 2× Golden Glove (1999, 2003)
• 2× Best Nine Award (1999, 2002)
• 2× NPB wins leader (1999, 2002)
• 2× NPB ERA leader (1999, 2004)
• 2× NPB strikeout leader (1999, 2003)

Uehara took a few years to find his groove in the U.S., but cemented his place in Boston sports lore for his lights-out performance in the 2013 MLB playoffs. He earned the ALCS MVP award in helping the Red Sox to the World Series championship. We ranked that glorious 2013 season as one of the best ever MLB seasons by a Japanese pitcher.

Uehara earned his first and only MLB All-Star Game selection in 2014 and returned to Japan in 2018 to end his career with the Giants. He made one final NPB All-Star Game appearance in 2018 and then retired at the beginning of the 2019 season, in front of his adoring Giants fans. He not only goes down as one of the all-time beloved greats in Japan, but also as the sixth-best Japanese import in MLB history.