is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

professional baseball pitcher 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., ...

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 ...

(NPB).

Early baseball career

Born in

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

, Hiroya started playing baseball in 1st grade for the Yamatotakada Eagles (little league), then for the Kashihara Condor Boys when he was in junior high. During his sophomore year in Fukuchiyama Seibi High School, his team placed runner-up in the autumn Kyoto Tournament, and won against baseball powerhouse PL Gakuen High School during the Kinki Tournament, where he pitched a complete game (1 earned-run, 10 strikeouts). In his junior year however, due to the involvement of his teammates in a scandal, their team was banned from participating in games. They also didn't make it to Kōshien tournaments.

Professional career

In October 28, 2010,

selected Shimamoto with the second selection in the 2010 NPB draft. In November 12, he signed with the Tigers for an estimated 3 million yen annual salary. He was assigned the jersey number 126.。 He appeared in a handful of Western League (farm) games in his first two years. In 2013, he was able to pitch as a reliever in 25 farm games, but the opposing batters seemed to get the best of him and he finished with an ERA of 4.94. Because he was unable to make it to the main roster for three years, he was released from his contract on October 31, and was offered to sign a 1-year Ikusei (development) contract on November 12. His appearances in farm games increased in 2014, and upon release from his Ikusei contract, he was again offered a regular contract on November 21. On December 2, 2020, he become a free agent. On December 8, 2020, Shimamoto re-signed with the Tigers.

Playing style

With a lean build listed at 176 centimeters, Shimamoto is a southpaw pitcher whose fastballs are clocked at a maximum of 144 km/h. While he can also deliver sliders and

forkball The forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-finger fastball, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard, snapping the wrist. Due to its movement being similar to that of a spitball, the pitch is oft ...

s, he learned the

shuuto The or shootball is a baseball pitch. It is commonly thrown by right-handed Japanese pitchers such as Hiroki Kuroda, Noboru Akiyama, Kenjiro Kawasaki, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Yu Darvish and Masumi Kuwata. The most renowned ''shuuto'' pitcher in ...

from pitching coach

Yutaka Ohno , (born August 30, 1955) is a former Japanese people, Japanese baseball player of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Japan's Central League. He was one of the most famous Japanese left-handed pitchers. He was born in Izumo, Shimane, Izumo, Shimane Pref ...

during the 2014 spring camp. He was also deemed to possess excellent ball control.

References

External links

NPB stats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shimamoto, Hiroya 1993 births Living people Baseball people from Nara Prefecture Hanshin Tigers players Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers