Tomohiro Nioka (二岡智宏, born April 29, 1976, in

Miyoshi, Hiroshima 270px, Panorama of central Miyoshi 270px, Aerial photo of central Miyoshi is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 49,106 in 23154 households and a population density of 63 persons per km2. The ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

) 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 ...

former professional baseball player. He previously played for the

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Nioka batted and threw right-handed.

Japanese career

Early career

Tomohiro Nioka was the second draft pick of the

in . He made his pro debut that year, playing in 126 games and hitting .289. The following season he played in 119 games, hit 10

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, and collected 32

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

. Nioka played in only 86 games in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, and played in 112 in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

. He hit 24 homers (which set a Giants record for his position) and compiled a .281 average in the 2002 season. The Giants won the championship in 2002, and Nioka won the

Japan Series Most Valuable Player Award The is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the Japan Series, which is the final round of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) postseason. The award was first presented in 1950. The series follows a ...

Career year

Tomohiro had a career season in . He played in 140 games, and hit .300, the first .300 season of his career. Nioka also recorded career highs in

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

(172), home runs (29),

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s (14) and

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

(88). Nioka played a large part in keeping the Giants out of the cellar that year by hitting many home runs that helped snap losing skids, including a home run on September 18 that helped the Giants win, 5 to 3, and end a 9-game losing streak. The Giants tied for 3rd place in 2003.

2004-2013

In 2004, Tomohiro appeared in only 91 games, but still managed to collect 88 hits. He had a strong comeback year in 2005, hitting 16 dingers and driving in 58 runs. Nioka hit .301 in 2005, a new career high. In 2006, he reached the 20-home run mark for the third time by sending 25 over the fence. In , Nioka hit .295, hit 20 home runs, and set a career high in RBI with 83. He played at both short and

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

in '07. On November 14, , Nioka and Masanori Hayashi were acquired by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters for Takahito Kudo and

Micheal Nakamura , also known as "MICHAEL" in NPB, is a Japanese-born Australian former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Yomiuri Giants and ...

MLB rumors

It was rumored over the 2007

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

offseason that Nioka, a free agent after the '07 season, was interested in playing in the big leagues. He was quoted as saying "I'd most definitely consider playing in the Major Leagues" in 2003. It was reported that possible destinations for Nioka might be the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, or

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

Love hotel scandal

In July 2008, the Japanese tabloid weekly

Josei Seven is a weekly women's magazine published by Shogakukan, released every Thursday. The main content is articles related to the imperial family and celebrities, but there are also pages for news articles and reader submissions. From the second half ...

reported, with pictures, that Nioka, who is married, had gone to a

love hotel A love hotel is a type of short-stay hotel found around the world operated primarily for the purpose of allowing guests privacy for sex. The name originates from "Hotel Love" in Osaka, Japan. Although love hotels exist all over the world, the ...

with TV announcer Mona Yamamoto. The two met by chance at a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

bar in Shinjuku ni-chōme, Tokyo and, according to the newspaper, traveled to the hotel after drinking and conversing for several hours. The incident received widespread press attention in Japan.Brasor, Phillip,
All this fuss over just a little drink at a . . . love hotel
, ''

Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'', July 20, 2008.

References

External links

*
MLB4U
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nioka, Tomohiro 1976 births Living people Baseball people from Hiroshima Prefecture Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball infielders Yomiuri Giants players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Managers of baseball teams in Japan 1998 Baseball World Cup players