Shinichi Kato

Shinichi Kato (加藤 伸一)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 178 lbs.

• High School Kurayoshi Kita High School

• Born July 19, 1965 in Kurayoshi, Tottori, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shinichi Kato played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 17 years.

Kato was drafted by the Nankai Hawks in the first round of the 1983 NPB draft, and he joined their big club bullpen as a rookie. He had a 2.76 ERA in 33 relief outings, then made it into the Hawks' rotation in 1985. He had a 4.09 ERA in 34 appearances (21 starts) in 1985, not a bad performance for a young starter. Kato also pitched 2 innings and allowed 2 runs in 1985 NPB All-Star Game 2.

The Kurayoshi native slumped to 3-10 with a 4.68 ERA in 1986 due to a right elbow injury, but he recovered and recorded a 3.23 ERA in 12 starts in 1987. Kato was 8-10 with a 4.54 ERA in 1988, then improved to 12-8 with a 3.67 ERA in 1989. He was 5th in wins in the Pacific League, 7 behind Hideyuki Awano. However, Kato suffered a severe right shoulder injury in 1990 and missed the entire season. He struggled in 1991 as his ERA rose to 6.03, and his shoulder was injured again. Kato missed the 1992 and 1993 seasons, and finally came back in 1994 with a 4.82 ERA in 17 starts. Unfortunately, Kato injured his shoulder yet again, and the Hawks released him after he missed the 1995 season.

The Hiroshima Carp picked him up, and Kato miraculously came back as he had a 9-7 record with a 3.78 ERA in 1996 after missing four of his six past seasons. He won the Central League Comeback Player of the Year Award. Kato slumped to 1-5 with a 7.48 ERA in 1997, but he bounced back soon and had a 8-6 record with a 2.99 ERA in 1998. He announced that he would become a free agent after this season, and the Orix BlueWave signed him.

Kato extended his solid performance with Orix, as he collected a league-leading 3 shutouts with a 3.47 ERA in 1999. He was 3-6 with a 4.98 ERA in 2000, then had a career year in 2001. Kato collected 11 wins with a solid 3.69 ERA; he ranked 4th in the PL in ERA (.45 behind Nate Minchey) and 7th in wins (4 behind Daisuke Matsuzaka). He also pitched 2 shutout innings in 2001 NPB All-Star Game 2. The veteran then announced that he would become a free agent again and transferred to the Kintetsu Buffaloes. He was the only player who used the free agent system to join Kintetsu. However, Kato struggled with Kintetsu as his ERA was 9.82 in 2002. He was 6-6 with a 4.28 in 2003, then announced his retirement after having a 7.04 ERA in 2004. Kato was the minor league pitching coach for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks from 2011 to 2013 and coached their big club in 2014.

Overall, Kato was 92-106, collected 12 saves with a 4.21 ERA, struck out 743 and pitched 1,764 1/3 innings in 17 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio