Tomoya Mikami

Tomoya Mikami (三上 朋也)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 198 lbs.

• School Hosei University
• High School Gifu Shogyo High School

• Born April 10, 1989 in Tajimi, Gifu, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Tomoya Mikami played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 10 years.

Mikami was drafted by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in the fourth round of the 2013 NPB draft, and he soon became a reliable reliever for their big club. Mikami had a 2.33 ERA in 65 appearances, and collected 13 holds and 21 saves. He was the first rookie to collect 20 saves and 10 holds in NPB history, and also broke the team record for saves as a rookie. He was 4th in the Central League in appearances and 4th in saves (between Kam Mickolio and Hitoki Iwase). Mikami also attended the 2014 NPB All-Star Game as a rookie, and pitched a shutout inning in Game 1. Relieving Tetsuya Yamaguchi, he completed a shutout of the Pacific League by retiring Sho Nakata, Dai-Kang Yang and Ginji Akamanai. He got 5 votes for the 2014 Central League Rookie of the Year Award, finishing fourth behind Daichi Osera's 217 votes, Katsuki Matayoshi's 26 and Koji Fukutani's 16. Mikami suffered from a left elbow injury in 2015, so he only pitched 21 games, albeit with an elite 0.81 ERA.

The Gifu native came back in 2016, and he collected 32 holds with a solid 2.61 ERA. He ranked 4th in holds (9 behind Scott Mathieson) and 12th in appearances (11 behind Mathieson and Ryo Akiyoshi). He also pitched a shutout inning in 2016 NPB All-Star Game 1. Relieving Yusuke Nomura in the 7th, he went 1-2-3 against Takero Okajima, Ernesto Mejia and Brandon Laird. He was succeeded by Mathieson.

Although Mikami notched a career-high 31 holds and ranked 8th in holds in 2017 (8 behind Kentaro Kuwahara), his ERA rose to 5.12. In the 2017 Nippon Series, Mikami replaced Shota Imanaga in the 7th inning in Game 2. He allowed a double to Kenji Akashi, and Ryuma Kidokoro completed a sacrifice bunt. Yoshiki Sunada then replaced him and Mikami collected a hold. He then pitched 1/3 of an inning in both Game 5 and Game 6, but couldn't stop the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks from beating them in 6 games.

Mikami bounced back soon, and collected 25 holds with a 3.05 ERA in 2018. He ranked 4th in holds (10 behind Kazuki Kondo) and 4th in appearances (9 behind Kondo). However, he injured his right elbow and underwent surgery, so he only pitched 16 games combined in the next two seasons. He came back in 2021 and recorded a 3.86 ERA in 40 games, but he only had 19 appearances in 2022 and the BayStars released him. The Yomiuri Giants picked him up, but Mikami still struggled as his ERA was 4.60 in 22 relief outings in 2023, then he announced his retirement.

Overall, Mikami was 10-16, collected 23 saves and 121 holds with a 3.22 ERA, struck out 257 and pitched 346 2/3 innings in 10 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio