Takayuki Shinohara

Takayuki Shinohara (篠原 貴行)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 176 lb.

• High School Oki Gakuen High School

• Born September 7, 1976 in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Takayuki Shinohara pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Japanese national team.

Shinohara represented Japan in the 2001 Baseball World Cup. The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks drafted him in the fourth round of the 1997 NPB draft. Shinohara joined the Hawk's bullpen as a rookie, recorded a 4.53 ERA in 51 appearances. He broke out in 1999, and had a 14-1 record with an elite 1.25 ERA. In 1999 NPB All-Star Game, Shinohara pitched 1/3 inning in Game 1 and allowed a run. He nearly became the second pitcher after the War to collected more than 10 wins without a loss, but he gave up a solo shot to Kazunori Yamamoto in his retiring game and ended his 14-game winning streak. He led the league in winning percentage with .933, and ranked 2nd in wins (2 behind Daisuke Matsuzaka). In 1999 Nippon Series, Shinohara had two shutout innings in Game 3 then pitched 1 2/3 inning without allowing any runs in Game 4 against the Chunichi Dragons. He relieved Shuji Yoshida in Game 5, Dae-ho Lee's RBI double made him allow his only run in that series, but he still won this first Nippon Series Title. Shinohara was 9-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 57 relief outings in 2000. He pitched 1 2/3 shutout innings in Game 3 of the 2000 Nippon Series, but the Yomiuri Giants drove in 2 runs in his 1/3 inning in Game 4. He had a shutout inning in Game 6, but couldn't prevent the Giants from winning the Series in 6 games.

Shinohara suffered an injury in 2001, and his ERA rose to terrible 6.26 in 33 games. He came back with a new pitching position in 2002, and had a 0.83 ERA in 19 appearances. However, that new position influenced his waist, and he missed nearly half of the 2003 season. He was 1-4 with 10 saves with a 2.32 ERA after coming back from the injury. The Fukuoka native was also selected into the 2003 NPB All-Star Game, but he give up a solo shot to George Arias and allowed 2 runs in 2 innings in Game 2. In 2003 Nippon Series, Shinohara pitched retired Tomoaki Kanemoto in the 9th inning of Game 1, and collected the win by Julio Zuleta's walk-off single. He relieved Katsunori Okamoto in Game 2, but he walked George Arias then Shinjiro Hiyama hit a single. He intentionally walked Akihiro Yano, but Atsushi Fujimoto singled when bases were loaded and Shinohara got the loss. His third appearance was in Game 5, he had a 1 2/3 shutout innings with a strikeout. The Hawks beat the Hanshin Tigers, and Shinohara won his second Nippon Series Title.

Shinohara injured his left shoulder and missed the entire 2004 and 2005 season. He came back and notched 12 holds with a 3.41 ERA in 2006. His ERA rose to 3.71 in 37 appearances in 2007, and he only pitched 21 games in 2008. Since Koji Mise and Takahiro Mahara shined with the big club, veteran Shinohara often appeared in low-leverage situations. He suffered a left elbow injury and missed the entire 2009 season, and the Hawks released 33-year-old Shinohara after that season.

The Yokohama BayStars picked Shinohara up in 2010, but he still struggled and recorded a 11.70 ERA in 20 games. In 2011, Shinohara miraculously came back and had a career year. He had a 37-game streak without allowing any runs, being a game shy to tied the Central League record. He ended up collecting 17 holds in 67 appearances with a 1.84 ERA. The veteran southpaw still notched 17 holds in 2012, but his ERA rose to 4.91 in 50 appearances. He suffered a left elbow injury and missed the entire 2013 season, and Shinohara announced his retirement after that season. He was the pitching coach for the BayStars from 2014 to 2018.

Shinohara's repertoire included a fastball (peak 92.6 mph), slider, cutter and changeup.

Overall, Shinohara was 33-19, notched 61 holds and 17 saves with a 3.28 ERA and pitched 468 2/3 innings in 13 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• Defunct IBAF site