Ren Kazahari

1.1. Childhood and Education

Born on February 26, 1993, Ren Kazahari hails from Kunohe Village, Kunohe District, Iwate Prefecture. He began playing baseball at a local club when he was in the third grade of elementary school. For his high school education, Kazahari attended Iwate Prefectural Ibonai High School. While he did not participate in the national tournaments at Koshien Stadium during his high school years, his talent as a pitcher began to attract attention from NPB scouts by his third year. Despite the interest, Kazahari chose not to submit a professional declaration form, opting instead to further his education and baseball career at the Tokyo University of Agriculture, specifically its Faculty of Bioindustry, located on a campus in Abashiri, Hokkaido.

1.2. Amateur Baseball Career

During his university years, Kazahari made his debut in the Hokkaido Student Baseball League in his first year of spring. Over his collegiate career, he compiled an impressive record of 16 wins and 3 losses, with a career earned run average (ERA) of 1.69. His performance led to his selection as a candidate for the university Japan national team in both his second and third years. In the autumn of his fourth year, Kazahari achieved further recognition, securing 5 wins and being named the league's Most Valuable Pitcher and a Best Nine selection. He participated in the Meiji Jingu Tournament, where he pitched one inning in the first round before exiting the game. Although he did not have further appearances in the tournament, his team advanced to the quarterfinals, buoyed by the strong performances of teammates Hiroto Tamai and Kazutomo Iguchi.

In the 2014 Nippon Professional Baseball draft, Kazahari was selected by the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the second round. He signed with the team on an estimated contract of 70.00 M JPY and an estimated annual salary of 12.00 M JPY. Kazahari made history as the first professional baseball player to emerge from Kunohe Village. His scouting was handled by Yukio Yaegashi.

2.1. Tokyo Yakult Swallows Era

Kazahari began his professional career with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, who drafted him in 2014. In 2015, he made his debut in the Eastern League, Japan's farm league, on March 29 against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters as a starting pitcher. However, his debut was cut short when he was ejected for a dangerous pitch on his 11th delivery after recording just one out. On May 3 of the same year, he made his NPB first-team debut as a starting pitcher against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp at Meiji Jingu Stadium. After getting the first batter out, his eighth pitch to the second batter, Ryosuke Kikuchi, was a dangerous pitch to the head, leading to his ejection. This incident made him the third pitcher in NPB history to be ejected for a dangerous pitch in his debut, and the first ever in a starting role. He was also the fastest to be ejected, having faced only two batters. He made only one first-team appearance that season. On June 29, he pitched as the eighth reliever for the NPB Select team in an exhibition game against the Samurai Japan University National Team at Jingu Stadium. In the Eastern League, he finished the season with 1 win and 6 losses, and an ERA of 5.02 over 12 appearances.

In 2016, Kazahari pitched in 8 first-team games, all in relief, without recording a win or loss, and posted an ERA of 8.10. In the Eastern League, he appeared in 41 games, earning 3 wins, 4 losses, and 3 saves with a 3.42 ERA. On August 8 of that year, he married actress Ayumi Matsuoka. For the 2017 season, he made only 3 appearances, with an ERA of 6.75. Following the season, his uniform number was changed from 32 to 64.

The 2018 season proved to be a breakthrough year for Kazahari. He was promoted to the first team on April 3. On April 7, he earned his first professional win against the Yomiuri Giants at Meiji Jingu Stadium, pitching 2 scoreless innings in relief after starter Masanori Ishikawa struggled, and the team came back to win. His strong performance led to increased opportunities, and despite a brief demotion mid-season, he returned to contribute in situations where he could earn holds. He concluded the season with 53 appearances, a significant increase from previous years.

In both 2019 and 2020, despite maintaining an ERA in the 1s in the Eastern League, Kazahari struggled in first-team appearances, consistently giving up many runs. In both years, he made just over 10 appearances, finishing with an ERA in the 7s. On November 2, 2020, the Swallows announced his release from the team. This meant that all eight players drafted by the Swallows in the 2014 draft (including one developmental player) had departed the team within just six seasons. On December 7, he participated in a 12-team joint tryout held at Jingu Stadium. Despite the challenging outdoor conditions in December, he recorded the fastest pitch among all participating pitchers at 93 mph ^{(149 km/h)} and delivered an impressive performance, striking out two of the three batters he faced and inducing a groundout from the other.

2.2. Yokohama DeNA BayStars Era

Following his release from the Swallows, Ren Kazahari's talent at the tryout quickly earned him a new opportunity. On December 10, 2020, it was announced that he had reached an agreement to sign with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in NPB. His estimated annual salary was 12.00 M JPY, and he retained his uniform number 64, the same number he wore in his later years with the Swallows.

In 2021, Kazahari continued to pitch in the farm league. On July 10, in an Eastern League game against the Chiba Lotte Marines, he even hit a double in the third inning while batting. This unusual occurrence happened because the team had insufficient position players, so the pitcher was included in the batting order without a designated hitter. In the first team, Kazahari made 5 appearances during the 2021 season, recording an ERA of 7.71. On October 5, he was released by the BayStars, marking his second consecutive year of being released by an NPB team.

2.3. Independent League Career

After his release from the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, Ren Kazahari sought to continue his baseball career. On December 8, 2021, he participated in the 12-team joint tryout for the second consecutive year, held at MetLife Dome. In his performance, he induced a groundout from the first batter, another groundout from the second, and issued a walk to the third. Although he did not receive any offers from NPB teams, he joined the Arizona Scouting League (ASL), an initiative organized and operated by Tomah Shikikawa, the general manager of the Ibaraki Astro Planets in Japan's Route Inn BC League. There, he participated in tryouts held in a scrimmage format before scouts from various leagues in Japan and the U.S. He pitched in three games, totaling 4 innings, allowing 3 runs, and striking out 6 batters, with his fastest pitch reaching 92 mi/h, approximately 92 mph ^{(148 km/h)}.

His performance at the ASL led to a contract offer, and in February 2022, Kazahari signed with the Wild Health Genomes of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent league in the United States. With the Genomes, he made 4 appearances, pitching a total of 4.2 innings. During this time, he recorded 0 wins and 0 losses, posted an ERA of 9.64, and struck out 5 batters. By the end of July, the trade deadline for NPB, he had not received any offers for a return to Japan. Consequently, he was released by the Wild Health Genomes on August 1 and returned to Japan.

6.1. Key Records

Throughout his professional career, Ren Kazahari achieved several notable milestones:

• First appearance and first start: May 3, 2015, against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Game 7 at Meiji Jingu Stadium. He pitched 1/3 of an inning without allowing a run.
• First strikeout: April 19, 2016, against the Hanshin Tigers in Game 4 at Hanshin Koshien Stadium. He struck out Taiga Egoshi swinging in the 8th inning.
• First win: April 7, 2018, against the Yomiuri Giants in Game 2 at Meiji Jingu Stadium. He entered in the 4th inning as the second pitcher in relief and pitched 2 scoreless innings.
• First hold: June 16, 2018, against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Game 2 at Sapporo Dome. He entered in the 6th inning as the second pitcher in relief and pitched 1 scoreless inning.

Kazahari is also notable for a specific incident early in his career:

• First dangerous pitch ejection in professional debut: As noted in his first appearance, he was ejected in the 1st inning after his fifth pitch struck Ryosuke Kikuchi in the head. This made him the third pitcher in NPB history to be ejected for a dangerous pitch in his debut, and the first to do so as a starting pitcher.

6.2. Annual Pitching Statistics

6.3. Annual Fielding Statistics

6.4. Uniform Numbers

Ren Kazahari wore the following uniform numbers during his professional career:

• 32 (2015-2017)
• 64 (2018-2021)

6.5. Entrance Music

Throughout his professional baseball career, Ren Kazahari used the following entrance music:

• "Calling All Hearts" by DJ Cassidy (2015-2018)
• "The Wizard's Last Rhymes" by Rhapsody of Fire (2019-)