The Sports Hochi newspaper has highlighted a statistic that confirms that Liván Moinelo a hurler from western Cuba as a true phenomenon in NPB history. Although Yoshinobu Yamamoto is considered one of the best pitchers of the modern era, the cold hard numbers show that the Cuban pitcher has unprecedented dominance:
📊 At least 500 innings pitched:
1️⃣ Liván Moinelo 🇨🇺: 1.80 ERA | .176 opposing batting average.
2️⃣ Yoshinobu Yamamoto 🇯🇵: 1.82 ERA (during his time with Orix).
Since the league adopted its current format in 1950, no one with at least 500 innings pitched has had a better ERA than Moinelo. The pitcher from Pinar del Río,Cuba has shone for seven years as a reliever and is now a too starter in Japan, becoming the first foreign player in history with two consecutive ERA titles.
In 630.1 innings pitched, opposing batters are hitting a mere .176 against him. A nightmare for anyone. Although Yamamoto accumulated more individual awards and innings pitched as a starter before going to MLB, Moinelo’s achievements with the SoftBank Hawks are a feat that will be etched in the golden annals of Japanese baseball for years to come.