Dennis Sarfate

Dennis Scott Sarfate is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has also played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, and Baltimore Orioles in Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and Saitama Seibu Lions of NPB. While an average reliever in the MLB, Sarfate became one of the greatest closers in NPB history after moving his career overseas. Sarfate holds several NPB records, including most saves in a season and most by a foreign-born pitcher. As of 2020, his 234 career saves rank fifth-most in NPB history. He has been a 3× NPB All-Star, a 3× Pacific League saves leader, a 5× Japan Series Champion, won the Japan Series Most Valuable Player Award, won the Pacific League MVP Award, and won the Matsutaro Shoriki Award.