Kentarō Ogawa

Kentarō Ogawa (January 12, 1934 – October 8, 1995) was a Japanese professional baseball player. A right-handed submarine-style pitcher,^[1] he played in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons. Ogawa was one of the top pitchers in Nippon Professional Baseball before a scandal derailed his career. During his prime years from 1965–1969, Ogawa won 93 games, including winning 20 games or more twice.

Biography[edit]

Ogawa attended Fukuoka Prefectural Meizen High School, graduating in 1954.^[1] He signed with the Toei Flyers, but instead of pursuing professional baseball, he went to work in the private sector.^[1]

Deciding to return to professional baseball at age 30, he made his NPB debut for the Chunichi Dragons in 1964. In 1967 he went 29-12 with a 2.51 ERA and 16 complete games, winning the Eiji Sawamura Award. The next year he led the league in losses with 20, while still compiling a low 3.27 ERA and 9 complete games. In 1969 he returned to form, winning 20 games for the second time.

Black Mist scandal[edit]

In 1970 Ogawa started the season 2–1 with a 1.71 ERA.

On May 6 of that year, Ogawa was arrested for taking part in auto race-fixing. He was also implicated in baseball game-fixing.^[1] On June 6, 1970, the NPB commissioner committee banned Ogawa for life.

See also[edit]

• Masaaki Ikenaga
• Black Sox Scandal
• Pete Rose

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference