is a former Japanese
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
player in Japan's
Nippon Professional Baseball
is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball".
The roots of the league ...
. He started his career as the Number 2 Draft pick with the
Chunichi Dragons
The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011 ...
in , and played for the
Hanshin Tigers
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Hanshin Koshien Stadium.
The Tigers are owned by Hanshin Electric Railway Co., ...
from 1998 until his retirement in 2010.
References
*
Career statistics - NPB.jp
1968 births
Living people
Baseball people from Osaka
Nippon Professional Baseball catchers
People from Hirano, Osaka
Chunichi Dragons players
Hanshin Tigers players
Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Olympic baseball players for Japan
Managers of baseball teams in Japan
Hanshin Tigers managers
Goodwill Games medalists in baseball
Baseball players at the 1990 Goodwill Games
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