Go Matsumoto

Go Matsumoto (松本 剛)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 176 lb.

• High School Teikyo High School

• Born August 11, 1993 in Kawaguchi, Saitama Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Go Matsumoto has played in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Matsumoto was drafted by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the 2nd round of the 2011 NPB draft. He debuted on October 4, 2013, but he only played 2 games in this year. Matsumoto spent the first five years in his career in the NPB Farm Leagues, and only played 25 games combined from 2012 to 2016. He made a league-leading 12 errors as a second baseman in 2014. In 2015, he collected his first career hit with the big club, off Takashi Kawai on April 17. 2017 season was the first season that Matsumoto stayed in the major league. He hit .274/.314/.353 with 5 dingers, and ranked 10th in batting average. Matsumoto also represented Japan in the 2017 Asia Professional Baseball Championship. However, when the injured Kensuke Kondoh came back, Go was assigned to the ni-gun again. He hit .222/.261/.302 in 2018, and only played 4 games in 2019. Due to the Coronavirus, the Kawaguchi native gain some major at-bats in 2020. He batted a terrible .203/.265/.268, and his appearances dropped to 104 in 2021.

Finally, the 28-year-old Matsumoto broke put in 2022. He batted .347/.398/.438 with 21 steals, and won the Best Nine award as an outfielder. He got 192 votes, the most among PL outfielders. Matsumoto was also selected into the 2022 NPB All-Star Game, but rejected to play due to a left knee fracture. He led the league in batting average, and ranked 4th in both hits and swipes. He was 7th in 2022 Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award voting, gaining 24 points. He was also the first right-handed batter to won batting title in the Fighters team history.