Shota Morishita

Shota Morishita (森下 翔太)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 198 lbs.

• School Chuo University
• High School Tokai University Sagami High School

• Born August 14, 2000 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shota Morishita has played in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Morishita was on the Japanese college national team that played the USA in 2020. He was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in the first round of the 2022 NPB draft; he was their first pick in the redraft phase after they lost the lottery for Asano Shogo to the Yomiuri Giants. He became the first Hanshin rookie to blast 10 homers since his manager Akinobu Okada did it in 1980, and ended up hitting .237/.316/.375 with 10 homers in 2023. He was 2-for-3 with a clutch game-tying solo shot off Aren Kuri of the Hiroshima Carp in Game 1 of the final stage of the 2023 CLCS, then then went 0-for-4 in Game 2. Morishita bounced back the next game, drew a RBI walk against Takuya Yasaki and help the Tigers swept the Carp. In the 2023 Nippon Series, Morishita was 1-for-9 in the first two games, then went 2-for-4 with a two-run single against Taisuke Yamaoka of the Orix Buffaloes in Game 3. He extended his solid batting, hit a RBI double against Sachiya Yamasaki in Game 4 then went 1-for-4 with a clutch RBI triple against Yuki Udagawa in Game 5. He was 0-for-4 in Game 6 then shined in Game 7 as he had hit a RBI double against Hiroya Miyagi then hit another RBI single against Kohei Azuma. Hanshin beat Orix in that game, and they won their first Japan Series in 38 years. He led the Series in RBI, two ahead of Sheldon Neuse. Morishita won 10 votes in 2023 CL Rookie of the Year voting, finishing second behind Shoki Murakami's 285 votes.

The Yokohama native then made it onto Japan's roster for the 2023 Asia Professional Baseball Championship. He blasted a game-winning solo shot off Ruei-Yang Gu Lin of Taiwan in their opener, then went 2-for-3 with a walk against South Korea. He was 1-for-4 in the Gold Medal Game against Korea again, and helped Japan win Gold. He was also named as one of the outfielders on the All-Tournament Team.