Takayoshi Noma

Takayoshi Noma (野間 峻祥)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 176 lb.
• School Chubu University
• High School Murano Kogyo High School

• Born January 28, 1993 in Miki, Hyogo Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Takayoshi Noma is an outfielder in Nippon Pro Baseball who began playing for the Hiroshima Carp of the Central League in 2015 after the Carp selected him in the first round of the 2014 NPB draft, after failing in the lottery to secure the rights to Kohei Arihara. A high-average, low-power hitter also known for his strong throwing arm in right field, he hit .286 in 126 games in 2018 to establish himself as a regular for the first time, but has played at least some games in the minor league Western League every season since making his debut. After two seasons hitting in the .240s and during which he lost playing time as a result, he bounced back to hit .272 in 2021 and then had his best season in 2022, when he batted .312 in 85 games with a career-high 21 doubles. As a rookie in 2015, he finished second in the league in triples with 6 in just 170 at-bats, 4 behind leader Kosuke Tanaka. Hitting triples has been a bit of a specialty, as he hit another 7 in 2018 and 5 in 2019.

He appeared in the 2018 Japan Series with Hiroshima against the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, which the Carp lost four games to one with one tie. In a wild Game 3 on October 30th, he hit an important single in a two-run rally in the 6th, then drew a walk in the 8th and was on base when Tomohiro Abe connected for a grand slam. In the 9th, with the score 9-8 in favor of Fukuoka, he came up with two on and two outs against closer Yuito Mori but was unable to tie the game as he grounded out to 1B Akira Nakamura to end the game.

In 2019, he played for the Japanese national team in an exhibition series against Mexico.