Shinji Kurano

Shinji Kurano (倉野 信次)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 187 lb.

• School Aoyama Gakuin University
• High School Ujiyamada High School

• Born September 15, 1974 in Ise, Mie Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Shinji Kurano pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Japanese national team.

Kurano represented Japan in the 1995 Asian Championship. The Daiei Hawks drafted him in the fourth round of the 1996 NPB draft. He had a 4.68 ERA in 15 appearances in his rookie year. In 1996. Kurano became an important part of the Hawks' bullpen, and recorded a 4.21 ERA in 36 relief outings. He suffered a injury, and only pitched 10 games combined in the next two years. Kurano came back and had a 3.77 ERA in 34 games in 1997. However, his ERA rose to 7.71 in 1998, and he only pitched 6 games in 1999. The Ise native bounced back in 2004, when he played a career-high 37 games, collected 9 wins with a 2.55 ERA. The 2004 season was the last productive season for Kurano; his ERA rose to 6.23 in 2005, and he allowed 9 runs in just 8 1/3 innings pitched in 2006. The Hawks released him after the 2007 season, which ended his professional career. He was a coach for the Hawks from 2007 to 2021, then served as pitching coach for the ACL Rangers since 2023.

Overall, Kurano was 19-9 with a 4.59 ERA and pitched 341 1/3 innings in 10 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan