Igawa home after disastrous Yankee years

One of Japan's costliest ever baseball exports returned home on Wednesday, cutting a disappointed figure less than five years after signing a $46 million deal with the New York Yankees. Kei Igawa, whose dismal showing with the Yankees made him among the star-studded team's biggest flops, joined Japan's Orix Buffaloes after failing to find a US major league team willing to hire him. "I would like to contribute to the victory of the Orix after calling a halt to my challenge in the United States," the 32-year-old left-handed pitcher, who was a free agent after the Yankees cut him, wrote on his blog. Igawa, a former star with the Hanshin Tigers, became a Japanese hero when he signed for the iconic Yankees, but was credited as a winning pitcher in only two games before being relegated to the farm system. "I have been training on my own and I am in good physical condition. I want to regain my old form and stand on the pitcher's mound as soon as possible," Igawa wrote. His ignominious return comes just two months after fellow Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish signed a $56 million, six-year deal with the Texas Rangers.