Yasukatsu Shirai

Yasukatsu Shirai (白井 康勝)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 176 lbs.

• High School Toyokawa High School

• Born March 4, 1969 in Shinshiro, Aichi, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yasukatsu Shirai pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 7 years.

Shirai was signed by the Nippon Ham Fighters in 1987 after going undrafted, and he spent his first three seasons mainly in the NPB Farm Leagues, only pitching 4 games with the big club, all in 1989. He joined their bullpen in 1991, and had a 2.42 ERA in 31 games and notched four saves. Shirai was named the closer in 1992, and he was selected into the 1992 NPB All-Star Games. He relieved Toyohiko Yoshida in the 8th inning in Game 1, but he allowed a run due to Yutaka Wada's grounder after Takahiro Ikeyama's triple. He then replaced Atsunori Ito in the 8th inning of Game 2, but he still struggled. Shirai walked Atsuya Furuta and walked Wada, then Yasuyuki Kawamoto replaced him. Hiroyuki Maehara then drove in 2 runs with a single, and they were charged to Shirai. He ended up collecting 10 saves with a 3.49 ERA, and ranked 5th in saves in the Pacific League (12 behind Motoyuki Akahori).

The Aichi native was turned into a starter in 1993, and he was still solid. Shirai attended 1993 NPB All-Star Game 2, and he relieved Yoshinori Sato in the 5th inning. He pitched two shutout innings, but the Central League broke through him in the 7th inning. Tom O'Malley hit a leadoff single, Hiromitsu Ochiai walked and Jack Howell hit a single to load the bases. Kenjiro Nomura then drove in two runs with a single, and Yoshitaka Katori replaced Shirai. The CL scored five in this inning to beat the PL, and Shirai was losing pitcher. Despite his terrible performance in All-Star games, he was a reliable starter in the regular season. Shirai had a 10-3 record with a 2.66 ERA; he ranked 4th in ERA (0.60 behind Kimiyasu Kudo) and 8th in wins (7 behind Koji Noda and Hideo Nomo).

However, the 1993 season was his last productive campaign. Shirai's ERA rose to 5.57 in 1994, and he had a 5.15 ERA in 1995. The Fighters released him after he spent the entire 1996 season in NPB Farm Leagues, and the Hiroshima Carp signed him. Shirai allowed 5 runs in 6 innings in 1997, and he was released again. The Yakult Swallows picked him up, but he was placed in the ni-gun for the entire 1998 season, and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Shirai was 22-21 with a 3.69 ERA, collected 16 saves, struck out 279 and pitched 455 2/3 innings in 7 years in NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio
• 1993 NPB All-Star Game