This week, it was reported that former Saitama Seibu Lions pitcher Brian Wolfe passed away on Tuesday morning, as mentioned in a Facebook post by his wife.
Wolfe was 45 as he battled an undisclosed illness. He played for nine seasons in NPB with the Lions, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He leaves behind his wife Rachell and three children.
A two-time Japan Series Champion in 2014 and 2015 with the Hawks, he was teammates with Dennis Sarfate, Jason Standridge and Yuki Yanagita as well as a young Kodai Senga.
He also saw the transition of both Yu Daevish and Shohei Ohtani with the Fighters.
Wolfe made it to MLB with the Toronto Blue Jays from 2007-2008. He was originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins while also spending time in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
After being used sparingly by the Hawks from 2014-2015, he entered 2016 without a job. The Lions signed him in July of that season and he thrived in an audition role with four wins in four starts, earning a contract for 2017.
Wolfe was a solid rotational pitcher starting 23 games with a 9-4 record and a 3.73 ERA. This helped the Lions reach their first postseason since 2013.
His final season was 2018, capping off a long nine years in NPB, well above any averages for a foreign player.
Since retirement, he was coaching the next generation of baseball players with a baseball academy under his name.
Several former teammates of Wolfe from Ernesto Mejia, Mandarin interpreter Yuan, Kazuhisa Makita have expressed their condolences. Former MLB outfielder Brandon Barnes also put up a reel to speak about Wolfe.
Our thoughts and prayers go to Wolfe's friends and family for those who knew him closely. The memories of what he did in Japan will never die.
In particular, we remember two Ikkyu commercials filmed alongside Mejia in 2017 and 2018.
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