Hitoki Iwase
Hitoki Iwase is a retired Japanese professional baseball player from Nishio, Aichi, Japan. He holds the NPB record for career saves and mound appearances.
In 2005, he marked 46 saves with a 1.88 ERA, renewing the single-season save record previously set by Kazuhiro Sasaki. This was subsequently broken by Dennis Sarfate of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in 2017.
He was chosen to play on the Japanese Olympic baseball team for the 2004 Summer Olympics, and won a bronze medal.
In the 2007 Japan Series, he saved a perfect game with eight innings thrown by Daisuke Yamai.
In 2008, he was selected to play on the Japanese Olympic baseball team for the 2008 Summer Olympics. In group stage against South Korean Olympic baseball team, his pitch was hit by Hyunsoo Kim, making him lost in the match. In semifinal against South Korean team as well, his pitch was hit by Seung-Yeop Lee which was led to two-run home run, making him lost again in the match. His overall performance in 2008 Summer Olympics was 3 defeats and ERA 13.75.
