Hiroshi Shibakusa

Hiroshi Shibakusa (芝草 宇宙)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 187 lbs.

• High School Teikyo High School

• Born August 18, 1969 in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hiroshi Shibakusa pitched in NPB and the CPBL for 15 years combined.

Shibakusa completed a no-hitter against the Tohoku High School in the 1987 Summer Koshien. He was drafted by the Nippon Ham Fighters in the sixth round of the 1987 NPB draft, but he spend his first four seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues. Shibakusa pitched 8 games in 1991, and he went 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA. He had a 3.38 ERA in 10 appearances in 1992, and he recorded a 3.77 ERA in 27 relief outings in 1993. Shibakusa's ERA was 3.51 in 34 games in 1994, then he had a 4.79 ERA in 17 games in 1995.

The Saitama native was turned into a starter in 1996, and he went 7-9 with a 3.81 ERA. He slumped to 3-9 with a 5.26 ERA in 1997, and he bounced back soon as he went 7-11 with a 3.90 ERA in 1998. He was 5th in losses in the Pacific League in '98, 3 behind Hiroshi Takamura. However, Shibakusa's ERA rose to 7.26 in 1999, and he was moved to the bullpen again. He had a 2.93 ERA in 20 appearances in 2000, then he pitched 56 games with a 3.57 ERA in 2001. Shibakusa was 5th in appearances in 2001, between Akira Okamoto and Rod Pedraza. He then notched 11 saves with a 3.58 ERA in 55 games in 2002, ranking 6th in saves (tied with Tomokazu Iba) and 8th in appearances (between Shogo Yamamoto and Koichi Misawa).

Shibakusa pitched a career-high 58 games in 2003 with a 4.02 ERA, and he was 4th in appearances (tied with Kiyoshi Toyoda). His ERA rose to 5.43 in 50 appearances in 2004, and he tied Katsunari Yoshikawa for 10th in games pitched. The Fighters released him after he spent the entire 2004 season in the ni-gun, and the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks picked him up. However, Shibakusa still didn't pitch any games with the big club that summer due to injuries, and he was released again. The Sinon Bulls of Taiwan signed him in 2007, and he was 2-2 with a 5.84 ERA. He announced his retirement after the 2007 season. Shibakusa was the pitching coach for the Fighters from 2011 to 2012, and he coached Surugadai University in 2019.

Overall, Shibakusa was 46-56 with a 4.24 ERA, collected 17 saves in 430 games, struck out 494 and pitched 941 innings in 14 years in NPB.

Sources

• NPB.com Bio
• Wiki Japan
• Taiwan Baseball Wiki