Shota Oba

Shota Oba (大場 翔太‎)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 171 lb.

• School Toyo University
• High School Yachiyo Shoin High School

• Born June 27, 1985 in Adachi, Tokyo Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Shota Oba pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Japanese national team.

Oba represented Japan in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup. Six teams selected Oba in the first round of the 2007 NPB draft, and the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks won the lottery. Oba debuted on March 23, 2008 and shutout the Rakuten Golden Eagles. He broke the Hawks' record for most strikeouts in a game with 16 on April 5 in his third start of his career. However, he struggled and ended up 3-5 with a 5.42 ERA in that season. Oba improved and had a 1-4 record with a 4.26 ERA in 22 appearances. He spent the whole 2010 season in the NPB Farm Leagues, ranked 2nd in ERA and 1st in WHIP. He also made into Japan's roster for the 2010 Intercontinental Cup. After this season, the Tokyo native was sent to the Criollos de Caguas of the Puerto Rican Winter League.

Oba broke out in 2011. He was 7-2 with a 2.55 ERA as the Hawks' main long reliever. He suffered a right shoulder injury, so he only pitched 10 games in 2012. Oba struggled in 2013 as his ERA rose to 5.26, and he only had 2 appearances in 2014. The Hawks then traded him to the Chunichi Dragons for cash after the 2015 season. He still struggled in ni-gun as his ERA was terrible 5.73 in 2016, then he announced his retirement after the 2016 season.

Overall, Oba was 15-21 and a 4.39 ERA and pitched 336 1/3 innings in 7 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan