Norihito Yamashita

Norihito Yamashita (山下 徳人)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lbs.

• School Toyo University
• High School Minoshima High School

• Born October 11, 1965 in Kainan, Wakayama Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Norihito Yamashita played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years.

Yamashita was drafted by the Lotte Orions in the fourth round of the 1987 NPB draft, and he spent his first two seasons primarily in the NPB Farm Leagues, only having 27 at-bats combined with the big club. He split time between the outfield and first base in 1990, and he hit .250/.315/.370 while leading the Pacific League with 6 triples (tied with Daijiro Oishi). However, when Takeshi Aiko came back to first base in 1991, Yamashita lost his spot and he hit .259/.335/.400 in 185 at-bats. He only had 18 at-bats with the big club in 1992, then he bounced back and hit .270/.295/.443 in 1993.

He started 49 games with a .283/.337/.429 batting line in 1994, but he was mainly used as defense replacement again in 1995 when the Chiba Lotte Marines (the Orions had changed their name) signed foreign players like Julio Franco and Pete Incaviglia. Yamashita only played 85 games combined in the next four seasons, then he announced his retirement in 1998. He coached the Marines from 1999 to 2003 and scouted for them from 2004 to 2013. He then coached the minor league team of the Marines from 2014 to 2015 and managed them in 2016. The Marines named him their batting coach in 2017, but they had worst stats in every category so he was fired.

Overall, Yamashita hit .255/.322/.387 with 253 hits and 19 homers in 11 years in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio