I noticed the other day that Robert Suarez of the San Diego Padres had led the National League in saves this past season. Suarez had spent six years in Japan playing for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (2016-19) and Hanshin Tigers (2020-21) and is, I think, the fourth guy to lead either the American or National League in saves and play in NPB. The others are Rick Gossage (led the AL in 1975, 1978 and 1980; played for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in 1990), Bobby Thigpen (led the AL in 1990; played for the Hawks in 1994-95) and Roberto Osuna (led the NL in 2019; played for the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2022 and the Hawks in 2023-present). And, yeah, it's kind of weird that all four of these guys played for the Hawks.
Suarez differs from the other three in two ways. The first is that he's the first guy to lead an MLB league in saves AFTER he played in Japan. The other is he's the only one of the four who also led one of the NPB leagues in saves - he led the Central League in both 2020 and 2021. Here's his "Title Holder" cards from BBM's Fusion sets from both years:
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| 2020 BBM Fusion #TH20 |
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| 2021 BBM Fusion #TH20 |
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