Shigekuni Mashiba

Shigekuni Mashiba (間柴 茂有)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 178 lbs.

• High School Hieizan High School

• Born November 15, 1951 in Otsu, Shiga, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shigekuni Mashiba pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 21 years.

Mashiba was drafted by the Taiyo Whales in the second round of the 1969 NPB draft. He joined the bullpen in his rookie year, but he struggled some and his ERA was 4.66 in 22 appearances. Mashiba was demoted in 1971, so he only pitched 2 games with the big club. Mashiba recorded a 4.83 ERA in 23 relief outings in 1972, and he came back to ni-gun again in 1973. He finally broke out in 1974, collecting 5 wins in 46 appearances with a 3.13 ERA.

The Whales then turned him into a starter in 1975. Mashiba was dominant in the first half, but he struggled after the All-Star break and the team demoted him again. He won the ERA title of the Eastern League with his 0.69 mark, and also led the Central League in shutouts with 3. Makihara struggled again in 1976 as his ERA was 6.75, and he only got a 4.98 ERA as a swingman in 1977. The Whales then traded him with Tomotaka Sugiyama to the Nippon-Ham Fighters for Osamu Nomura after the season.

The Otsu native joined the rotation after changing teams, and he had a 7-11 record with a 3.68 ERA in his first season with the Fighters. He slumped to 3-7 with a 4.27 ERA in 1979, and bounced back soon as he was 10-7 with a 3.83 ERA in 1980. Mashiba was also selected into the 1980 NPB All-Star Games, and he relieved Takashi Imoto in Game 1. However, Akinobu Okada blasted a 3-run homer off him in the 4th inning, and he got the loss. Mashiba then took over for Tokinari Nishina in the 8th inning in Game 3. He allowed a hit to Kenichi Yazawa, walked Sadaharu Oh and retired Yoshiharu Wakana to escape the jam.

Mashiba set ae NPB record in 1981. He was the first player to have more than 15 wins without any losses, and also set the record with his 15-game winning streak (all broken by Masahiro Tanaka in 2013). He also ranked 3rd in wins in the Pacific League, 4 behind Choji Murata and Yutaro Imai. In the postseason, he pitched a complete game against the Lotte Orions in Game 3 and won the Outstanding Player award. The Fighters advanced to the 1981 Nippon Series, and he started against the Yomiuri Giants. He pitched 7 shutout innings, but allowed a 2-run homer to Roy White in the 8th inning and Takashi Nishimoto got the win over him. He then started in Game 6, but he allowed 3 runs in 2 innings and got another loss, going 0-2 in the Series after his immaculate regular season. In the PL MVP Voting, he got 181 vote points and ranked 5th behind Yutaka Enatsu, Junichi Kashiwabara, Tony Solaita and Choji Murata.

After the fantastic 1981 season, Mashiba struggled in 1982 as his ERA rose to 5.20. He bounced back soon in 1983 and completed his last 10-win season. He was 10-5 with a 2.70 ERA, and he would have won the PL ERA title if he was qualified (Osamu Higashio won at 2.92). Mashida also attended the 1983 NPB All-Star Games, replacing Hirohisa Matsunuma in the 4th inning of Game 1 and allowing a run due to Koji Yamamoto's solo shot; Shigekazu Mori succeeded him. He only had a 5-11 record with a 4.65 ERA in 1984, and recorded a 3.54 ERA in 21 appearances as a reliever in 1985.

The veteran started 10 games in 1986 with a 3.67 ERA, and he was moved back to the bullpen again in 1987 and he had a 3.02 ERA in 16 appearances. His ERA rose to 7.88 in 1988, then the Fighters released him. The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks picked him up, but Mashida only pitched 19 games for them, and he announced his retirement after the 1990 season. He coached the Hawks from 1991 to 1994.

Overall, Mashiba was 81-83 with a 4.14 ERA, struck out 790 and pitched 1,657 innings in 21 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio
• 1983 NPB All-Star Game