Toshiba's Matsuyama fires first career shutout, 14 strikeouts, in title game

The last batter swung and missed. Toshiba's starting left-hander Hirohiko Matsuyama let out a roar, and his eyes filled with tears. Inside, he said to himself: "That was tough."

It was the moment that sealed the final of Japan's national corporate baseball championship, and Toshiba's first title in a very long time.

What happened?

Matsuyama started the final against NTT West and finished it. He struck out the last NTT West batter on a swinging third strike. The game was the first complete-game shutout of his life, and he piled up 14 strikeouts along the way.

The win gave Toshiba its third Japan Championship. It is the first one in 32 tournaments. Corporate baseball is Japan's amateur-level circuit where players are employees of company teams, and this championship is its biggest national event.

Why is everyone talking about it?

Because this is not how Matsuyama describes himself. His own assessment is that he is a "pitch-to-contact" pitcher, someone who gets outs by letting batters hit the ball rather than by blowing it past them.

In the final, and across this whole tournament, he looked like a different pitcher. Fourteen strikeouts in a championship game is a long way from soft contact and routine ground balls.

The win also lands with extra weight for the club. Toshiba's story this season has been one of recovery, including the days when the team lived in fear of being shut down. Manager Okawara, now in his third year, has built the squad around "mutual understanding" between coaches and players.

What's next?

The 51st Japan Championship ran from 31 October to 10 November, and with the final done, Toshiba can enjoy being national champion. The team last won this title 32 tournaments ago, so many of today's players had never seen it happen.

For Matsuyama, the next question is simple: can the pitcher who surprised himself in the final do it again?