Raidel Martinez earns 250th NPB save in Japan; first foreigner to reach 250 NPB saves
Cuban international star Raidel Martinez earns 250th NPB save - World Baseball Softball Confederation - wbsc.org
Cuban international star Raidel Martinez earns 250th NPB save
Cuban international star Raidel Martinez became the first foreign pitcher to record 250 saves in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The only other import pitcher with over 200 saves is Dennis Sarfate (234), who also holds the single-season record with 54.
Martinez, who will turn 30 on 11 October, picked up the milestone save in a 5-3 Yomiuri Giants win against the Chunichi Dragons, the team that brought him to Japan in 2017.
Martinez pitched a scoreless ninth inning and recorded his 38th save of the season. He has led NPB in saves with 39 in 2022, 43 in 2024 and 46 in 2025.
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“I’m full of gratitude to my fans and teammates,” Raidel Martinez said postgame. "
He became the sixth pitcher to reach the milestone, the second this year after Naoya Matsuda (Lotte Marines), who reached the milestone on 4 August.
Martinez did it in just 411 games, eclipsing the previous record of 435 games by former Yokohama BayStars closer Kazuhiro Sasaki, who also played at the Major League Baseball (MLB) level for the Seattle Mariners.
“I believe this achievement was made possible thanks to God, my family and my fans,” Martinez added.
Hitoki Iwase (407 career saves), Shingo Takatsu (286) and Yoshihisa Hirano (250) are the only other pitchers with at least 250 saves.
Hirano, a 42-year-old player and coach for the Oryx Buffaloes who also played for MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners, became the oldest player to reach the mark at 41 on 3 April 2025.
Martinez started his career in the Cuban National League ( Serie Nacional ). He played 44 games (14 as a starter) for Ciego de Avila and Pinar del Río before signing for NPB’s Chunichi Dragons in February 2017. He pitched 17 games for the Dragons’ farm team before making his NPB debut in 2018.
He became Chunichi’s closer in 2020 and earned 21 saves. He saved 23 wins in 2021, 39 in 2022, 32 in 2023 and 43 in 2024. At the end of the season, he agreed to a four-year contract with the Yomiuri Giants worth US$32.5 million, an NPB record deal for a Latin American player and an allegedly record NPB annual salary (US$8.125 million) in a multi-year deal. Martinez reportedly declined offers ranging from US$50 million to US$70 million from MLB teams to remain affiliated with the Cuban Baseball Softball Federation.
Martinez has represented Cuba in the 2019 and 2024 editions of the WBSC Premier12 , as well as in the 2017, 2023 and 2026 World Baseball Classic. He helped his country win a silver medal at the 2019 Central American and Caribbean Games.
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Martinez becomes eligible for the Golden Players Club ( Meikyukai ), an association founded in 1978 to honour players with 2,000 hits, 200 wins or 250 saves in NPB, as well as those whose combined NPB and MLB totals reach those marks.
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He became the sixth pitcher, the first foreigner, to reach the mark and he did it in just 411 games, eclipsing the previous record (435) by Kazuhiro Sasaki. He picked up the historic save for the Yomiuri Giants against the Chunichi Dragons, the team that brought him to Japan in 2017.