Yuki Saito a national sensation after using a blue handkerchief to wipe away sweat during the National High School Baseball Championship in 2006 at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture. | KYODO
Yuki Saito a national sensation after using a blue handkerchief to wipe away sweat during the National High School Baseball Championship in 2006 at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture. | KYODO

Former high-school baseball star pitcher Yuki Saito will retire at the end of the season after 11 years in NPB, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters said Friday.

The 33-year-old was nicknamed the "Handkerchief Prince" after he used a blue handkerchief to wipe away sweat while steering his team to the high school national championship in the summer of 2006.