Iwakuma has been a reliable fixture in the Mariners rotation for the past four years.
After his long and majestic career in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization where he amassed a record of 107-69 with an ERA of 3.25 over two hundred and twenty-six games, Iwakuma was finally recognized by the Mariners organization and took the journey to the United States to play in the MLB.
The Mariners especially knew that Iwakuma had MLB potential when he rolled over the rest of the Nippon league during his standout 2008 year. The right-hander recorded a record of 21-4 with a league-best ERA of 1.