Shun Tono

Shun Tono (東野 峻)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 187 lb.
• High School Hokota Daiichi High School

• Born July 11, 1986 in Hokota, Ibaraki Japan

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Shun Tono played nine season in Nippon Pro Baseball, from 2007 to 2015. He was with the Yomiuri Giants of the Pacific League until 2012, then spent two seasons with the Orix Buffaloes of the Central League in 2013 and 2014, before finishing his career back in the Pacific League with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. He was mostly a marginal player, spending at least part of most of these seasons in the ni-gun, the Japanese minor leagues, but had a nice three-season peak that included being part of a championship team with Yomiuri.

His best season was in 2010 when he had an excellent year with the Giants, going 13-8, 3.27 in 27 games, logging 157 innings and striking out 140 opponents. He started the second game of the 2010 NPB All-Star Game on July 24th after going 11-2 in the first half of the season, but allowed 4 runs in 2 innings. In 2011, he pitched a few more innings at the top level - 161 - but fell to 8-11, 3.67 and spent time in the minor league Eastern League. On October 11th that year, he gave up a single to Matt Murton of the Hanshin Tigers that extended Murton's hitting streak to 30 games, setting a new record for a gaijin in NPB. In 2009, he was part of the Yomiuri team that won the 2009 Japan Series, four games to two over the Nippon Ham Fighters. He went 8-8, 3.17 as a starter during the season, but struggled with his control as he finished tied for second in the Central League with Yoshinori Sato with 57 walks. He relieved Tetsuya Utsumi in the 2nd inning of a 4-2 loss in Game 2 of the Japan Series, and after doing well, got the start in Game 6 on November 7th, facing Masaru Takeda. However, he did not make it out of the 1st inning as Shinji Takahashi lined a ball off his wrist with two outs, and he had to leave the game in great pain. This time, it was Utsumi who relieved him and pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win that clinched the championship. He struggled with a drinking problem the next season, which brought his time with Yomiuri to an end. A few years earlier, he had to quit smoking on team orders, as management felt this was hampering his development as a pitcher.

Unusually for a Japanese player, his first professional experience was in a winter league, with the Honolulu Sharks of the short-lived Hawaiian Winter League in 2006. He was originally an outfielder in high school and got to play the position for one game with the Giants in 2011. After his playing career, he worked for a time as a batting practice pitcher for Yokohama, until injuring his rotator cuff in 2016.