Daisuke Matsuzaka

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2007-2014)

Daisuke Matsuzaka was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2007 to 2014 for the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets, a span of 8 seasons. Across 158 career appearances, he went 56-43 with a 4.45 ERA and 720 strikeouts.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 56–43
ERA 4.45
WHIP 1.40
SO 720
Pitcher PIV -2993.9
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 205 lb
Born
9/13/1980 in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
MLB Debut
2007-04-05
Last Game
2014-09-25
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Career Pitching Statistics

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
56 43 158 132 1 0 1 790.1 721 391 85 387 720 4.45 -2993.9

Career ERA 4.45 vs. league average 4.09 across their career seasons — 8.7% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Daisuke Matsuzaka Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
2007 BOS AL 15 12 32 32 1 0 0 204.2 191 100 80 201 4.40 4.47 (+2%) 1314.5
2008 BOS AL 18 3 29 29 0 0 0 167.2 128 54 94 154 2.90 4.32 (+33%) 1262.7
2009 BOS AL 4 6 12 12 0 0 0 59.1 81 38 30 54 5.76 4.32 (-33%) -1133.4
2010 BOS AL 9 6 25 25 0 0 0 153.2 137 80 74 133 4.69 4.08 (-15%) 123.3
2011 BOS AL 3 3 8 7 0 0 0 37.1 32 22 23 26 5.30 3.94 (-35%) -944.1
2012 BOS AL 1 7 11 11 0 0 0 45.2 58 42 20 41 8.28 4.01 (-106%) -2199.8
2013 NYN NL 3 3 7 7 0 0 0 38.2 32 19 16 33 4.42 3.87 (-14%) -434.6
2014 NYN NL 3 3 34 9 0 0 1 83.1 62 36 50 78 3.89 3.74 (-4%) -982.5
Career · 8 seasons 56 43 158 132 1 0 1 790.1 721 391 387 720 4.45 — -2,994

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
158 37 0 7 0 0 0 3 0 1 16 .189 .211 .189 .400 0

Career AVG .189 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 26.7% below league average.

Career OBP .211 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 35.2% below league average.

Career SLG .189 vs. league average .406 across their career seasons — 53.4% below league average.

Career OPS .400 vs. league average .731 across their career seasons — 45.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
2007 BOS AL 32 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
2008 BOS AL 29 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
2009 BOS AL 12 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2010 BOS AL 25 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
2011 BOS AL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2012 BOS AL 11 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
2013 NYN NL 7 12 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 .250 — — — — 0.0
2014 NYN NL 34 11 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 .182 — — — — 0.0
Career · 8 seasons 158 37 0 7 0 0 0 3 0 1 16 .189 — — — — 0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
7 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 .333

Playoff Batting by Year

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2008 ALCS BOS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2008 ALDS1 BOS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2007 ALCS BOS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2007 ALDS1 BOS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2007 WS BOS 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 .333

Playoff Career Pitching

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
3 1 7 7 0 35.2 39 19 17 33 4.79

Playoff Pitching by Year

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2008 ALCS BOS 1 0 2 2 0 11.0 9 5 6 11 4.09
2008 ALDS1 BOS 0 0 1 1 0 5.0 8 3 3 5 5.40
2007 ALCS BOS 1 1 2 2 0 9.2 12 6 2 9 5.59
2007 ALDS1 BOS 0 0 1 1 0 4.2 7 3 3 3 5.79
2007 WS BOS 1 0 1 1 0 5.1 3 2 3 5 3.38

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (316 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home78110201.182
Away80260502.192

Pitching — Home / Away

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home78393.13631981913444.53
Away80397.03581931963764.38

Last 10 Games — Batting

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
2014-09-25 NYNWASL 000000000
2014-09-23 NYNWASL 000000000
2014-09-21 NYNATLW 000000000
2014-09-11 NYNWASL 000000000
2014-08-30 NYNPHIL 000000000
2014-08-28 NYNATLL 000000000
2014-07-24 NYNMILL 000000000
2014-07-21 NYNSEAL 000000000
2014-07-12 NYNMIAW 100000001
2014-07-07 NYNATLW 200000001

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
2014-09-25 NYNWAS — 2.0100120
2014-09-23 NYNWAS — 0.1000010
2014-09-21 NYNATL — 1.0000010
2014-09-11 NYNWAS — 3.0100310
2014-08-30 NYNPHI — 2.0111220
2014-08-28 NYNATL — 0.2433001
2014-07-24 NYNMIL — 2.0333022
2014-07-21 NYNSEA — 1.1211020
2014-07-12 NYNMIA — 6.04444101
2014-07-07 NYNATL — 7.0600230

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 158 132 47 75 3 10

Season-by-Season Fielding

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2007 BOS P 32 32 11 23 0 3
2008 BOS P 29 29 16 19 1 2
2009 BOS P 12 12 2 5 0 2
2010 BOS P 25 25 8 12 2 2
2011 BOS P 8 7 0 2 0 0
2012 BOS P 11 11 6 2 0 0
2013 NYN P 7 7 1 4 0 0
2014 NYN P 34 9 3 8 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 158

Awards & Honors

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
2007 Player of the Week Week of 2007-05-19

Salary History

Daisuke Matsuzaka's recorded salaries total $53,499,998 over 7 seasons, 2007 to 2014. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Matsuzaka's career ran from 2007 to 2014. No salary is recorded for 2013.

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2014 NYN NL $1,500,000
2012 BOS AL $10,333,333
2011 BOS AL $10,333,333
2010 BOS AL $8,333,333
2009 BOS AL $8,333,333
2008 BOS AL $8,333,333
2007 BOS AL $6,333,333
Total recorded salary (partial) $53,499,998

Award Voting History

Daisuke Matsuzaka — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
2008 Cy Young Award AL 4th 10.0 140 0
2007 Rookie of the Year AL 4th 12.0 140 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Daisuke Matsuzaka (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Robert Person
    51-42, 4.64 ERA
  2. 96
    John Maine
    41-36, 4.45 ERA
  3. 93
    Ricky Romero
    51-45, 4.16 ERA
  4. 92
    Hector Santiago
    48-51, 4.12 ERA
  5. 90
    James McDonald
    32-30, 4.20 ERA
  6. 89
    Tony Armas
    53-65, 4.65 ERA

Daisuke Matsuzaka: the record in brief

Between the debut on April 5, 2007 and the final game on September 25, 2014, Daisuke Matsuzaka built the record summarized on this page. By club, Matsuzaka's seasons break down as the Boston Red Sox (2007 to 2012) and the New York Mets (2013 through 2014). Born on September 13, 1980, in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, Matsuzaka is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 6 feet, 0 inches and 205 pounds.

Matsuzaka's career pitching line is 56 wins, 43 losses and a 4.45 ERA over 158 appearances. The totals include 720 strikeouts. The league ERA over Matsuzaka's seasons was 4.09, so the 4.45 figure ran 8.7% worse than average. Matsuzaka won 18 games in 2008, the most of any season listed. 2007 produced Matsuzaka's most strikeouts, 201. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.90 in 2008, when the league's was 4.32.

Matsuzaka's awards table lists Player of the Week (2007). In award voting, Matsuzaka's best finish was 4th for the Cy Young Award in 2008.

Frequently Asked Questions about Daisuke Matsuzaka

What years did Daisuke Matsuzaka play?
Daisuke Matsuzaka played in Major League Baseball from 2007 to 2014.
Was Daisuke Matsuzaka a pitcher?
Yes. Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched in the major leagues, recording 56 wins and 720 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Daisuke Matsuzaka hit?
Daisuke Matsuzaka hit 0 career home runs with 7 hits.
What teams did Daisuke Matsuzaka play for?
Daisuke Matsuzaka played for 2 teams: the Boston Red Sox (2007–2012) and the New York Mets (2013–2014).
What were Daisuke Matsuzaka's career stats?
In 158 games, Daisuke Matsuzaka went 56-43 with a 4.45 ERA, 720 strikeouts, 790.1 innings pitched, and 1 saves.
How much did Daisuke Matsuzaka earn in his career?
Daisuke Matsuzaka's recorded salaries total $53,499,998 over 7 seasons, 2007 to 2014. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Matsuzaka's career ran from 2007 to 2014. No salary is recorded for 2013.
What was Daisuke Matsuzaka's salary?
Daisuke Matsuzaka's last recorded salary was $1,500,000, in 2014. His highest recorded salary was $10,333,333, in 2011, and his lowest was $1,500,000, in 2014. The Salary History table lists each season from 2007 to 2014.
What position did Daisuke Matsuzaka play?
Daisuke Matsuzaka played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Daisuke Matsuzaka and how much did he weigh?
Daisuke Matsuzaka was listed at 6 feet and 205 pounds.
What was Daisuke Matsuzaka's career ERA?
Daisuke Matsuzaka finished with a 4.45 career ERA, going 56-43 with 720 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Daisuke Matsuzaka have?
Daisuke Matsuzaka recorded 720 career strikeouts.
Is Daisuke Matsuzaka in the Hall of Fame?
No. Daisuke Matsuzaka has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.