Ryusei Kawano

2.1.1. High School

During his time at Tokushima Prefectural Naruto High School, Kawano made three appearances in the National High School Baseball Championship (also known as Summer Koshien). His best performance came in the 98th tournament, where his team reached the best eight. One of his high school classmates was Shoryo Nakayama, who would later become his teammate with the Nippon-Ham Fighters.

2.1.2. Industrial League

After graduating from high school, Kawano joined the JFE West Japan industrial league baseball team. In his first year, he participated in the 88th Intercity Baseball Tournament as a reinforcement player for the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Hiroshima team. The following year, he again played as a reinforcement for JR West Japan in the 89th Intercity Baseball Tournament. In his third year, he competed in the 90th Intercity Baseball Tournament with his own team, JFE West Japan.

In November 2018, he recorded two consecutive shutout victories in the 44th Japan Baseball Championship. In the final game of the same tournament, he pitched 9 innings, allowing only one run against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagoya, though his team ultimately lost in extra innings and finished as runners-up.

On October 17, 2019, Kawano was a first-round pick in the 2019 NPB draft, receiving nominations from both the Orix Buffaloes (who had missed out on Takaya Ishikawa) and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (who had missed out on Roki Sasaki). Through a lottery, the Nippon-Ham Fighters secured his negotiation rights. On November 11, he signed a contract with the Fighters for a signing bonus of 100.00 M JPY plus an additional 50.00 M JPY in incentives, with an estimated annual salary of 15.00 M JPY. He was assigned uniform number 28.

2.2.1. 2020 Season

In 2020, Kawano made the opening rotation for the Fighters. He made his professional debut and first professional start on June 24 against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, pitching 5 innings, allowing 4 hits and 5 walks, and surrendering 4 earned runs in a losing effort. In his fourth start, on July 19 against the Chiba Lotte Marines, he pitched 8 innings, allowing 2 runs, to earn his first professional win. While he showed promise early in the season, he later struggled with stamina and control in crucial moments, leading to a re-adjustment period in the minor leagues during the summer. He returned to the first team on October 4 for a game against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks but was removed after allowing 4 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks in just 0.2 innings. He finished his rookie year with 12 starts, a record of 3 wins and 5 losses, and an ERA of 5.07. In the offseason, his contract was renewed for an estimated salary of 17.50 M JPY, an increase of 2.50 M JPY.

2.2.2. 2021 Season

Kawano again earned a spot in the opening rotation for the 2021 season. His first start of the season came on March 30 in the home opener against the Saitama Seibu Lions, where he allowed two 2-run home runs and surrendered 4 runs in 3.0 innings, leading to his early exit. After only two starts, he was transitioned to a relief role. However, in his first professional relief appearance on April 16 against the Rakuten Golden Eagles, he pitched 3 perfect innings, earning his first professional hold. He then recorded 18 consecutive scoreless appearances from April 30 against the Lions until giving up a run on June 22 against the Orix Buffaloes. In 28 relief appearances, he accumulated 2 wins, 0 losses, 8 holds, and an impressive 0.29 ERA.

Due to his success in relief, he was moved back to a starting role in the second half of the season. On September 28, in his eighth start since the transition, he finally secured his first starting win of the season against the Rakuten Golden Eagles. However, he did not record any further wins as a starter and was moved back to relief at the end of the season. Overall, he made 11 starts, with a record of 1 win and 6 losses and a 4.42 ERA as a starter. For the entire 2021 season, he appeared in 40 games, with a record of 3 wins, 6 losses, and 9 holds, and an ERA of 2.99. His contract was renewed for an estimated salary of 30.00 M JPY, an increase of 12.50 M JPY.

2.2.3. 2022 Season

In 2022, under the new manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo (BIGBOSS), the team employed a strategy of frequent pitching changes from the start of the season. Kawano was registered as an active player on March 26 and pitched as the third reliever in that day's game against the SoftBank Hawks, but he gave up 5 runs (4 earned) in 2 innings and was tagged with the loss. He made his first start of the season on April 3 against the Orix Buffaloes, pitching 6 innings and allowing 2 runs, but did not receive a decision. In his next start on April 9 against the Rakuten Golden Eagles, he gave up 5 runs on 7 hits in 3 innings and was again charged with a loss. He was then transitioned to a relief role, but after allowing 6 runs in 2 innings on April 24 against the SoftBank Hawks, he was removed from the active roster on April 25.

While he continued to adjust as a starter in the minors, team circumstances, particularly the struggles of key relievers Naoki Miyanishi and Mizuki Hori, led to his re-promotion to the first team as a reliever on June 17. He continued to pitch in relief, and on July 23, he started a bullpen day game against the Chiba Lotte Marines, pitching 3 innings and allowing 1 run without a decision. He was again removed from the active roster the following day. On September 8, he was re-promoted to the first team as a reliever. On September 10, against the Saitama Seibu Lions, he entered the game in the bottom of the 10th inning with one out and a runner on first base, holding a one-run lead. He induced a double play from Shohei Suzuki, earning his first professional save with just two pitches. He remained with the first team until the end of the season, finishing with 21 appearances (3 starts), 0 wins, 2 losses, 1 hold, and 1 save, with a 4.41 ERA. In the offseason, his contract was renewed for an estimated salary of 27.00 M JPY, a decrease of 3.00 M JPY.

2.2.4. 2023 Season

Kawano began the 2023 season in the minor leagues but was registered as an active player on April 18. In his first appearance of the season on April 19 against the Chiba Lotte Marines, he pitched effectively in relief. He recorded 8 consecutive scoreless appearances before allowing his first run of the season on May 14 against the Marines. Although he saw an increase in hold opportunities, he struggled in the final interleague game on June 19 against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, failing to secure a save. In the two weeks following the resumption of league play (June 23 - July 6), he suffered two losses. By the end of the first half of the season, he had appeared in 30 games, with a record of 0 wins, 3 losses, and 8 holds, and an ERA of 1.75.

In the second half of the season, he displayed stable pitching, allowing runs in only two of his 20 appearances. He established himself as the team's set-up man for the 7th inning. For the 2023 season, he appeared in 50 games, with a record of 1 win, 4 losses, and 20 holds, and an ERA of 1.70. In the offseason, his contract was renewed for an estimated salary of 50.00 M JPY, an increase of 23.00 M JPY.

2.2.5. 2024 Season

In 2024, Kawano made the opening day roster as a reliever for the first time in his career and continued in his role as a set-up man. He started the season impressively with 15 consecutive scoreless appearances. Before the start of the interleague season, he had appeared in 19 games, recording 1 win, 1 loss, and 14 holds, with an ERA of 0.48.

However, he experienced several blown saves during the interleague schedule. On June 21, in a game against the Rakuten Golden Eagles, he entered in the 8th inning with a one-run lead, two outs, and no runners on base, but gave up a game-tying solo home run to pinch-hitter Atsuki Abe. Despite these struggles, he was selected for the 2024 NPB All-Star Game by fan vote. In the first game of the All-Star series, he pitched as the fourth reliever in the 7th inning, striking out three consecutive batters in a dominant performance.

In the second half of the season, he continued to struggle with giving up runs in August. On August 31, in a game against the Saitama Seibu Lions, he entered in the bottom of the 8th inning with a one-run lead, two outs, and a runner on third base. He faced pinch-hitter Takumi Kuriyama, who hit a game-winning 2-run home run, costing Kawano the loss. He was removed from the active roster the following day, September 1. He was re-registered on September 15. For the year, he appeared in 52 games, with a record of 1 win, 4 losses, and a league-leading 33 holds, totaling 34 hold points, with an ERA of 2.13. This performance earned him his first career title, the Best Middle Reliever award. His 34 hold points were the second-lowest for a Pacific League Best Middle Reliever winner, behind only Yusuke Kawasaki's 31 hold points in 2008. In the postseason, he pitched in all three games of the 2024 Pacific League Climax Series First Stage against the Chiba Lotte Marines, allowing no runs in any of his appearances.

4.2.1. Firsts

• First appearance and first start: June 24, 2020, against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles at Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi. He was the losing pitcher after 5 innings, 4 runs.
• First strikeout: June 24, 2020, against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles at Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi, striking out Eigoro Mogi swinging in the 3rd inning.
• First win and first start win: July 19, 2020, against the Chiba Lotte Marines at Sapporo Dome, pitching 8 innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs with 7 strikeouts.
• First hold: April 16, 2021, against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles at Tokyo Dome, pitching 3 scoreless innings in relief from the 4th inning.
• First save: September 10, 2022, against the Saitama Seibu Lions at Belluna Dome, completing 0.2 scoreless innings in relief from the 10th inning with one out.

4.2.2. Other Notable Records

• All-Star Game appearance: 1 time (2024)
• One-pitch loss: May 23, 2023, against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks at Es Con Field Hokkaido, allowing a walk-off home run to Yuki Yanagita in the 6th inning. This marked the 26th player and 28th instance in NPB history.