Kuroda sets the bar high for himself

Hiroki Kuroda, who turned down an offer from the Padres to return to his old club the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, has set some goals for himself.

Kuroda returned to Japan after a seven year career in the Majors. Of those seven years he spent four in Los Angeles and three in New York. In six of those seven years he proved to be a work horse. Except for the 2009 season in which he started twenty games, he had at least 31 starts in every season. His average ERA over those seven years was a more than decent 3.45. His W-L record ends at .500: 79 victories and 79 losses.

Mulling about retirement, Kuroda decided to join his former team from Japan after they made him a one year $3.3 million offer. He wanted to pitch at least one more season in Japan and this offer was the best opportunity for him to return to his home country. He could not just retire without pitching in Japan again.

Kuroda stated that he thinks that he has a responsibility towards his club. “At this age and with this kind of contract, there are obligations to consider. If I don’t meet those obligations, there will come a time where I will need to make a decision.” In other words, I f he doesn’t clinch ten victories at least, he may retire.

No matter if he gets the ten victories or not, he can look back on a great career in which he proved that he could compete on MLB level.