Masa Yamamoto, a pitcher who turns 50 years old next year, has renewed his contract to play for Nippon Professional Baseball’s Chunichi Dragons.

Yamamoto became the oldest pitcher to win a game this year when he pitched against the Hanshin Tigers on Sept. 5, allowing five hits and no runs over five innings. He also set a record as the oldest pitcher to appear in a NPB game.

“I’m just glad they decided to sign a contract with a 50-year-old. I’m grateful I can play baseball for one more year,” Yamamoto said after reaching the deal. He is to receive ¥40 million ($348,000) next year, according to his official website, which was launched in 1998.

Yamamoto was drafted by the Dragons in 1984 and won his first game in 1988, the year New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka was born. His best year came in 1994, when he won 19 games and posted an earned run average of 3.49 to win the Sawamura Award, Japan’s equivalent of the Cy Young Award.

The lefty appeared in three games in 2014 and went 1-1 with a 4.50 earned-run average. Yamamoto told reporters he would decide after the next season if it would be his last year.

For his career, Yamamoto has won 219 games and struck out 2,308 batters with an ERA of 3.45. He never thought of joining Major League Baseball, he told the Dragons official website in an interview in 2008. The secret of his professional longevity is practicing hard and sweating a lot, he also said.

Yamamoto still needs more than nine years to reach the MLB record for the oldest pitcher to take the mound. Satchel Paige signed with the Cleveland Indians at the age of 42 in 1948. He retired in 1953, but signed with the Kansas City Athletics in 1965 and pitched three innings when he was 59.