Hideki Irabu was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1997 to 2002. He was known for his fastball, which earned him the nickname 'The Fu-Manchu'. Irabu was the first Japanese-born player to sign with an MLB team, and he was the first Japanese-born pitcher to start a game in the major leagues. He was also the first Japanese-born player to be named an All-Star. Irabu won two World Series championships with the New York Yankees in 1998 and 1999.