Osamu Hamanaka (濱中治, born July 9, 1978, in

Tanabe, Wakayama Tanabe (, Latn, ja, Tanabe-shi, ) is a Cities of Japan, city located in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 70,972 in 35,076 households and a population density of 69 persons per km2. The total area of the city i ...

) is a former

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 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. Drafted by 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., ...

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 ...

in 1996, Hamanaka spent 11 years with the club from 1997 to 2007. Following his time with Hanshin, Hamanaka spent three seasons with the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture ...

from 2008 to 2010 and one season with the

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri G ...

in 2011. In November 2014 it was announced that Hamanaka had signed a contract to return to Hanshin as a batting coach for the farm team.Osamu Hamanaka Press Conference
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamanaka, Osamu 1978 births Living people People from Tanabe, Wakayama Baseball people from Wakayama Prefecture Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Hanshin Tigers players Orix Buffaloes players Tokyo Yakult Swallows players Japanese baseball coaches Nippon Professional Baseball coaches