Former All-Star Shigetoshi Hasegawa has qualified for the U.S. Amateur golf championship
The U.S. Amateur golf championships are coming up on Aug. 14-20, and there will be a familiar name to baseball fans in the mix. Shigetoshi Hasegawa pitched nine seasons with the Angels and the Mariners from 1997 through 2005, becoming just the fourth Japanese player to appear in the Majors.
Hasegawa more than held his own, peaking with a 1.48 ERA in 63 games out of the 2003 Mariners bullpen and earning an All-Star berth. The right-hander retired in 2005, but as it turns out, his sporting career was not over yet.
On July 24 of this year, Hasegawa golfed in the U.S. Amateur sectional qualifier with the Southern California Golf Association, and he finished 2-under over two rounds, just enough to make it through to the championships:
Hasegawa turned 49 on Aug. 1 and he currently serves as a senior advisor for his old NPB team, the Orix Buffaloes. Now, though, he'll appear on the course at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, just 50 miles from where he once excelled on the mound at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.
Not a bad side job.