is a Japanese former 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 and current manager, who spent his entire 19-year career with

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 ...

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

, serving as the team's captain from 2007 to 2014. He has twice been named the MVP of the Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Series, in 2007 (Game 1) and 2010 (Game 1).

Career

As a player

In the 2009 Japan Series, won by Abe's Giants 4 games to 2 over the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...

, he was named the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

. In 2012, after hitting .340 with 27 home runs and 104 RBIs, Abe was named the

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

. In addition, Abe was the co-recipient (along with teammate Tatsunori Hara) of the 2012

Matsutaro Shoriki Award Matsutaro Shoriki Award is named in honor of Matsutarō Shōriki, the owner of the Yomiuri Shimbun, whose achievements earned him the label of the real parent of present day Japanese professional baseball. The prize was founded in 1977. It is pr ...

. He was the captain of Japanese national team in 2013 WBC, and hit 2 home runs in the same inning against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, becoming the first and only player to achieve such a feat in the history of the WBC. With 406 career home runs, Abe ranks 18th on the NPB career list. On September 24, 2019, Abe announced he would retire after the 2019 season, his 19th in NPB.

As a coach

Abe was named the manager of the Giants' second squad for the 2020 season. On October 4, 2023, Abe was named the Tatsunori Hara's successor as manager for the main club, after Hara announced his intention to step down.

International career

He was selected Japan national baseball team at the 1997 Intercontinental Cup, 1999 Asian Baseball Championship,

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

2007 Asian Baseball Championship The 24th Asian Baseball Championship was contested in Taichung, Taiwan in November and December 2007. The tournament is sanctioned by the Asian Baseball Federation. The winner of the tournament will gain automatic entry into the 2008 Olympic Games ...

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

, 2012 exhibition games against

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike the tw ...

. Also, he was selected Nippon Professional Baseball All-Stars at the 2004 MLB Japan All-Star Series and the 2006 MLB Japan All-Star Series. On November 16, 2018, he was selected Yomiuri Giants roster at the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series exhibition game against MLB All-Stars.

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abe, Shinnosuke 1979 births Asian Games medalists in baseball Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Baseball players at the 1998 Asian Games Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball people from Chiba Prefecture Chuo University alumni Living people Managers of baseball teams in Japan Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Nippon Professional Baseball catchers Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Olympic baseball players for Japan People from Urayasu, Chiba Yomiuri Giants players category:Yomiuri Giants managers 1998 Baseball World Cup players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players World Baseball Classic players of Japan