Gentaro Shimada

Gentaro Shimada (島田 源太郎)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 182 lb.
• High School Kesennuma High School

• Born August 25, 1939 in Kesennuma, Miyagi Japan

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Gentaro Shimada was a long-time pitcher in Japan, playing 15 seasons for the Taiyo Whales of the Central League between 1958 and 1973, missing the 1971 season. He was just 18 years old when he appeared in his first games, making the team thanks to his outstanding curve ball. His rookie season was marred by an injury, when he was practicing his pitching motion at Osaka train's station, slipped and fell on the tracks, breaking his wrist.

His best season came in 1960, when he went 19-10, 2.29 and appeared in 50 games, including 41 starts, with 203 strikeouts in 247 1/3 innings. He pitched 8 shutouts that season and was an All-Star for the first time. On August 11th, he threw the 6th perfect game in NPB history, defeating the Osaka Tigers, 1-0. At the time, that made him the youngest pitcher to have tossed a perfect game in NPB (he was eclipsed by Roki Sasaki in 2022). The Whales made it to the Nippon Series, where they faced the Daimai Orions. He started and won Game 2, 3-2, on October 12th, then started Game 4 on October 15th but was not involved in the decision as Taiyo completed a four-game sweep with a 1-0 win.

He fell to 9-19 in 1961, and only had a few more good seasons after that, as he finished below .500 in five of six seasons from 1961 to 1966. He broke a bone in his pitching shoulder in the fall of 1963, contributing to his lack of success. He began a comeback by going 2-0, 1.23 in 14 games in 1967 and then 14-6, 2.90 as he recaptured some of his past magic in 1968. He won his first ten decisiosns that year. He was no longer a power pitcher by that point, with just 90 strikeouts in 167 2/3 innings, but he could still be effective. That year, he started the first 1968 NPB All-Star Game on July 23rd at Kawasaki Baseball Stadium and gave up a homer to the first batter of the game, Art Lopez. That was the only run until the Central League tied the game in the bottom of the 9th, then won it in the bottom of the 10th on a walk-off homer by Shinichi Eto in what remains one of the most famous All-Star contests in Japanese history. He also appeared in the third All-Star Game played that year, on July 25th, and was charged with the Central League's 5-4 loss in extra innings.

After that great comeback season, Shimada was again ineffective, going 5-6, 3.81 in 1969, appearing in only 3 games the next season, then briefly retired, serving as a pitching coach in 1971, He returned after that one season away from the game, going 3-3, 3.91 and 0-0, 5.14 in 1972 and 1973 respectively. Overall, his record was 70-77, with a 3.18 ERA, his reputation coming from his two great seasons a decade apart.

After his second retirement, he became a broadcaster, and was also a pitching coach for the Chiba Lotte Marines' ni-gun team.