Koji Uehara - International Competition

International Competition

Uehara is renowned for his performance in international competition. He participated in international events since he was in the University, he also participated Olympic Games twice, as well as the first World Baseball Classic, and participated in Asian Baseball Championships. He has 12 wins and 2 saves, without a loss in his 25 appearances from the above events.

He was a member of the Japanese national baseball team which competed in the 2004 Olympic games in Athens. The team eventually won the bronze medal.

In 2006, he joined Team Japan for the World Baseball Classic and earned 2 wins, improving his unbeaten record in international competition (including amateur appearances) to 12 wins in 21 appearances. In the World Baseball Classic, Japan beat Cuba to win the championship; Uehara led the tournament with 16 strikeouts. He was a closer in 2007 Asian Baseball Championships, played in two games and earned his first international save against Korea.

His performance in 2008 was inconsistent and he was demoted to a farm team in late April. He remained in the 39-out-of-77 men candidate list towards the Beijing Olympics in late June, and was selected to the final 24-men list in mid-July. He was expected to be a set-up pitcher before the Olympic Games due to his inconsistent performance. But he appeared as a closer in his first appearance against Chinese Taipei, pitching a shutout inning without yielding a hit, winning 6–1. He earned his first Olympic save against Canada, holding a 1–0 victory two days later. However, after the Japan finished fourth in the games, he expressed no interest in participating the World Baseball Classic in 2009.