Shuji Nishiyama

Shuji Nishiyama (西山 秀二)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 190 lb.

• High School Uenomiya High School

• Born July 7, 1967 in Yao, Osaka Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shuji Nishiyama has caught in Nippon Pro Baseball.

The Nankai Hawks and Kintetsu Buffaloes both drafted Nishiyama in the fourth round of the 1985 NPB draft, and the Hawks won the lottery for his rights. Nishiyama was involved in a car accident and missed a month, and spent the whole rookie year in the NPB Farm Leagues. The Hawks then traded him to the Hiroshima Toyo Carp for Toshinori Nagata and Hiroshi Moriwaki. Nishiyama debuted on August 26, 1989, but he only played 2 games in that season. He collected his first career hit on April 17, 1990 off Tadashi Kashima, and ended up batting .286/.286/.381 in 22 appearances. He backed up Mitsuo Tatsukawa in 1991, hitting .279/.317/.459 with 52 games played. When Tatsukawa retired after the 1991 season, Nishiyama won the competition with Terunobu Seto, and played 79 games with .224/.287/.324 batting line. He secured the starting catcher spot in 1993, and recorded a .229/.262/.343 batting line with 7 homers.

The Yao native broke out in 1994. He was selected into the 1994 NPB All-Star Game, and ended up hitting .284/.341/.364 with 6 triples. He also won both the Best Nine and NPB Gold Glove Award. He struggled in 1995 as his batting line fell to .211/.298/.377, but bounced back in the next year. 1996 season was Nishiyama's career year. He attended the All-Star Game again, and had an elite .314/.388/.389 batting line. He led the league in intentional walks, ranked 8th in batting average and won both the Best Nine and Gold Glove Award again. He set the team record for highest batting average as a catcher in this season (broke by Shogo Sakakura in 2021). Nishiyama strangely struggled again, when his batting line fell to .205/.300/.277 in 1997, but he still led the league in intentional walks with 11. Nishiyama missed all of the 1998 season due to injuries.

In 1999, the veteran came back and hit .238/.299/.320 with 4 homers. He extended his reliable performance, hitting .221/.282/.316 and .239/.327/.310 respectively in the next two years. The 35-year-old Nishiyama regressed and only recorded a .195/.265/.290 batting line in 2002 season. Kazuyoshi Kimura replaced him at the starting catcher spot. Nishiyama backed up Yoshiyuki Ishihara in 2003, hitting .149/.179/.189 in 74 at-bats, and the Carp released him after the 2004 season. The Yomiuri Giants picked him up, and he announced his retirement after the 2005 season, and turned into a coach. He was the battery coach for the Giants from 2008 to 2010, and served as the same position from 2022 to present (2023) for the Chunichi Dragons.

Overall, Nishiyama had hit .242/.308/.336 in 17 seasons in NPB.