Shinya Sasaki

Shinya Sasaki (佐々木 信也)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 6", Weight 167 lb.

• School Keio University
• High School Shonan High School

• Born October 12, 1933 in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shinya Sasaki has played in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Sasaki represented Japan in the 1955 Asian Championship, Japan's first Asian Championship title. The Takahashi Unions signed Sasaki in 1956, and he had one of the most impressive rookie years in NPB history. He hit .289/.338/.379 with 180 hits, and played 153 games in a year. This is still the NPB record for games played (tied with Tokuji Iida and Kohei Sugiyama). He also set the NPB records for most game played, at-bats, plate appearances, hits and singles as a rookie. He led the league in hits and ranked 7th in steals (34, 51 behind Akiteru Kono). In 1956 NPB All-Star Game 1, Sasaki hit a single from Ryohei Hasegawa, then collected another single from Shigeru Sugishita in Game 2. He won the Best Nine award as a second baseman. Although setting those incredible records, Sasaki still lost the NPB Rookie of the Year Award to the even more dazzling Kazuhisa Inao, who had an excellent 1.06 ERA with 20 wins.

The Takahashi Unions merged with Daiei Stars in 1958. Sasaki didn't hit well with the new team, as he only had a .261/.313/.347 batting line with 5 homers. The Stars then merged with the Mainichi Orions after 1958 season, and Sasaki was forced to change team the third time in his three-year career. His performance declined again as he only batted .254/.307/.315 in 1959. The Orions then released him after he recorded a .196/.253/.273 batting line, and his professional career end. He then became a famous broadcaster.

Overall, Sasaki had hit .265/.314/.346 in 4 seasons in NPB.