Orioles sign Tsuyoshi Wada

By Josh Land

Orioles

December 14, 2011, 1:23pm

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The Orioles announced today that they have signed LHP Tsuyoshi Wada (sue-YO-she WAH-dah) to a two-year contract with a club option for 2014. Wada, 30, was 107-61 with a 3.13 ERA (1444.2IP, 503ER) and 1,329 strikeouts in 210 career games (207 starts) over nine seasons with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Japanese Pacific League. In his 52 starts over the last two seasons, Wada is 33-13 with a 2.29 ERA (354.0IP, 90IP) and has struck out 337 batters while walking 95 and allowing just 18 home runs. Wada was named the 2003 Pacific League Rookie of the Year when he went 14-5 with a 3.38 ERA (189.0IP, 71ER) in 26 games and was named to the Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Team in 2003, 2004, 2010 and 2011. In 2010, he was named the NPB Most Valuable Player as he led the league with 17 wins and on August 3, 2011, he became the fastest NPB left-hander to win 100 games. Wada pitched in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Games, and also helped Japan to the 2006 World Baseball Classic championship. He will wear jersey number 18 for the Orioles.