Hirokazu Sawamura

is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants and Chiba Lotte Marines, and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox. Listed at and , he throws and bats right-handed.

Baseball career Sawamura played college baseball for Chuo University in Tokyo. On October 28, 2010, Sawamura was drafted by the Yomiuri Giants first overall pick in the 2010 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.

Yomiuri Giants

Sawamura played nine seasons for the Yomiuri Giants during 2011–2020; he missed the 2017 season due to a shoulder injury. In 2011, he was named the Central League Rookie of the Year. In 2013, he was named MVP of the first game of the NPB All-Star Series. During his first four seasons with the Giants, he was predominantly a starting pitcher; after 2014, he only appeared for the Giants as a relief pitcher. which the Giants went on to win in six games over the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He pitched as a reliever in 2013, when the Giants lost in seven games to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, and in 2019, when the Giants lost in four games to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Chiba Lotte Marines On September 8, 2020, Sawamura was traded to the Chiba Lotte Marines. With the Marines in 2020, he appeared in 22 games, pitching to an 0–2 record with one save and a 1.71 earned run average (ERA) while striking out 29 batters in 21 innings pitched.

Boston Red Sox On February 16, 2021, Sawamura officially signed a two-year, $3 million contract with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut on April 2, pitching in relief against the Baltimore Orioles. He earned his first MLB win on April 23, after pitching innings of scoreless relief against the Seattle Mariners. Sawamura was placed on the injured list on July 23 due to right triceps inflammation; he returned to the Red Sox on July 30. He was placed on the COVID-related list on August 31, and returned to the team on September 13. Overall during the regular season, Sawamura made 55 relief appearances for Boston, compiling a 5–1 record with 3.06 ERA while striking out 61 batters in 53 innings. but recalled to Boston two days later. On August 29, Sawamura was designated for assignment, then sent outright to Triple-A two days later. On September 11, Sawamura was released by the Red Sox. Overall during 49 relief appearances with the Red Sox during 2022, Sawamura compiled a 1–1 record with a 3.73 ERA while striking out 40 batters in innings.

Chiba Lotte Marines (second stint) On January 28, 2023, Sawamura signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). On August 10, it was announced that Sawamura had been diagnosed with reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome and spent a short stint in the hospital. As a result, he was prohibited from performing strenuous exercise for the month of August.

Sawamura made 20 appearances for Lotte during the 2025 season, compiling an 0-1 record and 3.93 ERA with 10 strikeouts across innings pitched. On October 9, 2025, Lotte announced that they would not retain Sawamura for the 2026 campaign.

On January 8, 2026, Sawamura announced his retirement from professional baseball.

International career Sawamura was selected to the Japan national baseball team for the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He also pitched for Japan in the 2015 WBSC Premier12 tournament.

Scouting report Sawamura throws a fastball topping out at , a splitter, and a slider. In college, he also featured a curveball.