A game-used, autographed ball from Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki's perfect game has been donated to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, the museum said Thursday.
On April 10, the Lotte Marines right-hander became the youngest pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball history to throw a perfect game at 20, striking out a record-tying 19 batters, including 13 in a row, against the Orix Buffaloes.
In his next start a week later, Sasaki threw eight perfect innings before being replaced by a reliever at the start of the ninth.
Among its other items, the museum owns Los Angeles Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani's cap from his first major league career win on the mound in 2018 and a ball from the 2019 game when he became the first Japanese player in the majors to hit for the cycle.
