Yasuhiko Yabuta

Yasuhiko Yabuta, born on 19 June 1973, is a Japanese former baseball pitcher. He made his professional debut with the Marines in 1996 and spent 12 years with that organization, competing in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, where he struck out Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon and Derrek Lee. In 2007 he worked as a setup man, recording a 4-6 record and a 2.73 earned run average over 58 games. After that season he declared free agency and signed a two-year, 6 million dollar contract with the Kansas City Royals, spent part of 2008 in Triple-A with the Omaha Royals, and returned to Chiba Lotte on a one-year deal in November 2009.