Noriharu Yamazaki

Noriharu Yamazaki (山崎 憲晴)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 170 lb.

• School Yokohama Shoka University
• High School Saitama Sakae High School

• Born December 13, 1986 in Fuji, Shizuoka Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Noriharu Yamazaki played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 9 years.

Yamazaki represented Japan in the 2006 World University Championship, 2008 World University Championship (.192/.292/.286 but with 5 runs and 6 RBI in six games; he tied Ryan Jackson for 10th with 15 assists and tied for 7th with two steals) and 2008 Haarlemse Honkbalweek. He was drafted by the Yokohama BayStars in the 3rd round of the 2008 NPB draft, and he hit .187/.275/.224 in 69 games in 2009. He went 6-for-35 in 2010, and he had a 4-for-38 record in 2011. Yamazaki was 5-for-28 in 2012, and he broke out in 2013.

As Yokohama's main infield utility man, he hit .249/.299/.350 with 3 homers in 115 games. Yamazaki then recorded a .239/.295/.294 batting line with 38 sacrifice bunts in 2014, and he was 3rd in sacrifice hits in the Central League (12 behind Yamato Maeda). He also tied the NPB record by completing 4 sacrifice bunts in a game on July 21. However, he only got 48 at-bats combined with the big club after the '14 season, and he announced his retirement in 2019. He then became the minor league batting coach for the Hanshin Tigers from 2023 to 2024, and he became their minor league fielding coach in 2025.

Overall, Yamazaki hit .218/.275/.282 with 175 hits and 6 homers in 9 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan