Michio Shigematsu

Michio Shigematsu (重松 通雄)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 150 lb.
• High School Imabari Minami High School
• Born September 16, 1916 in Ehime Prefecture Japan
• Died December 26, 1979

BR register page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Michio Shigematsu was in Nippon Professional Baseball from 1936 to 1940, from 1942 to 1943, in 1947 and 1950. He was the first submarine pitcher in Japanese pro baseball; Daisuke Miyake had switched him over from regular delivery. He played for Hankyu (1936-1940), Taiyo (1942), Nishitetsu (1943), the Kinsei Stars (1947) and the Nishi Nippon Pirates (1950).

He began his career with a 1.95 ERA in 55 1/3 innings his first season, going 3-2 in the fall of 1936. He was 8th in the Japanese Professional Baseball League in ERA, between Takao Misonoo and Tadashi Wakabayashi. He also hit .316/.381/.421, though for his career he was more of a typical pitcher offensively. In the spring season of 1937, he was 6-3 with a 2.64 ERA, allowing a .205 average but walking 76 in 105 2/3 IP. He was 8th in walks, between Akira Noguchi and Saburo Asaoka). He fell to 1-2, 7.20 in the fall campaign. Due to low ERA qualifications used that season, it goes down in history as the worst ERA in NPB history by a qualifying hurler. The Ehime native was 2-1 with a 0.92 ERA in four starts in the spring campaign of 1938 and 4-2 with a 2.82 ERA in the fall, missing the top 10 in ERA by .15.

Shigematsu was 13-12 with 13 complete games and a 2.16 ERA in 1939. He finished 7th in the JPBL in ERA (between Jiro Noguchi and Masao Nakamoto) and missed the top 10 in wins by one. His 1940 ERA, in 76 2/3 innings, was 1.41. He was 4-3. Had he qualified, he would have been 4th in the loop in ERA. He missed 1941 due to military service in World War II.

After a season away, Shigematsu was 12-22 between 1942 and 1943, at 3-4, 2.00 in limited time in '42 but 9-18, 2.76 in '43. The latter year, he tossed 250 2/3 innings, allowing just 177 hits (but also 156 walks) and completing 16 games. The low hit total was unexceptional in the low-offense era in Japan as teams hit a composite .196 that summer. He did not make the top 10 in ERA (2.17 was the 10th man's figure) but he did place 4th in losses (between Eiji Katayama and Yoshio Tenbo), was 9th in IP (between Juzo Sanada and Fumio Maruyama), was 10th in hits allowed, allowed the third-most runs (behind Katayama and Takehiko Bessho), was second with 77 earned runs allowed (only 3 behind Bessho, who pitched 68 2/3 more IP) and was 4th in walks (between Maruyama and Mitsuhiko Ishida). He then missed 1944-1945 due to World War II service as well.

In 1947, he was 11-19 with a 2.99 ERA in 40 games (30 starts), completing 22 games and shutting out five. He tied Bessho for 4th in losses, tied Tadayoshi Kajioka and Sanada for 7th in shutouts, was 5th with 91 runs allowed (between Bessho and Maruyama) and 8th in walks (113, between Tokuji Kawasaki and Rentaro Imanishi). He missed the final two seasons of the JPBl but got another chance when Japanese pro ball expanded into two leagues in 1950. He was 7-16 with a 6.30 ERA his final season, placing 8th in the Central League in losses.

He later was a minor league coach for the Nishitetsu Lions and eventually moved up to pitching coach for the Lions in NPB. He was a scout from 1970 to 1976.

Overall, Shigematsu was 63-82 with 78 complete games, 11 shutouts and a 3.06 ERA over nine seasons. In 1,343 innings, he allowed 1,103 hits and 633 walks, while striking out 356 batters. Through 2011, he was tied with Mutsuo Minagawa for 76th in NPB annals in walks.