Former Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher Dan Serafini convicted of murder in California

(First published on October 31, 2023 - Updated July 18, 2025)

TOKYO — Not many MLB or NPB players have ever been arrested and convicted for murder. Ralph Schwamb, a one-time pitcher for the St. Louis Browns, committed a murder in 1948 in Long Beach, California, as a way of paying off a gambling debt to a mobster. He served 10 years in prison before being paroled.

In Japan, there was Hiroshi Ogawa, a former pitcher for the Lotte Orions. In 2004, he was convicted by a Saitama court for murdering a 67-year-old woman and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Now you can add Dan Serafini to the list.