Kosuke Noda

Kosuke Noda (野田 浩輔)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 198 lb.

• High School Yatsushiro Higashi High School

• Born December 4, 1977 in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kosuke Noda has been a catcher with the Seibu Lions.

Noda was 1 for 4 for Japan in the 2000 Olympics and did not play in the Bronze Medal game. He was picked by Seibu in the 6th round of the 2000 NPB draft. Kosuke was 9 for 47 with a double in 33 games in 2002 as the backup to Tsutomu Itoh then was 0 for 2 in the 2002 Japan Series.

In 2003, he hit .222/.306/.349 in 36 games as a third-stringer behind Toru Hosokawa and Itoh. On September 30, he cracked his first homer, off Mac Suzuki. He batted .239/.276/.380 in 37 contests in 2004, backing up Hosokawa. He saw regular action in the 2004 Japan Series but went 0 for 10 with a walk; Seibu still took the title.

Kosuke was 11 for 48 with 3 walks, 2 doubles and a homer in 2005 and 4 for 15 with a triple in 2006. He went 7 for 25 with four walks in 2007 and 1 for 9 in 2008. He was 0 for 1 with a walk in the 2008 Japan Series. His walk came at a crucial time; with a 2-2 tie in the 8th inning of game 7, he coaxed a free pass with one on and two out from Daisuke Ochi. Hiroshi Hirao then singled in the Series winner.

Kosuke was 0 for 10 with a walk in 22 games in 2009. Through '09, his career batting line was .220/.269/.314 in 189 games.

Sources: Japanbaseballdaily.com, Defunct IBAF site