Yasumitsu Shibata

Yasumitsu Shibata (柴田 保光)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 187 lbs.

• High School Shimabara Agricultural High School

• Born August 20, 1957 in Shimabara, Nagasaki, Japan
• Died October 9, 2022 in Saitama Prefecture, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yasumitsu Shibata pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 15 years.

Shibata was selected by the Seibu Lions in the second round of the 1978 NPB draft, and he joined the rotation as a rookie. He was 1-3 with a 4.98 ERA, but he slumped to 1-3 with a 6.49 ERA in 1980. He was turned into a reliever in 1981, and he had a 3.26 ERA in 38 relief outings. However, Shibata couldn't repeat his performance in 1982, and he only pitched 13 games with a 4.63 ERA. He pitched 1 2/3 innings with a run allowed in 1982 Nippon Series Game 4, and the Lions beat the Chunichi Dragons to win the title. Shibata had a 3.38 ERA in 12 games in 1983, and the Lions traded him with Hiroshi Kimura to the Nippon Ham Fighters for Yutaka Enatsu.

The Nagasaki native only had a 5.40 ERA in 15 appearances in 1984, but he broke out the next season. Shibata was 11-13 with a 3.28 ERA in 1985, led the Pacific League in shutouts with 2, ranked 3rd in ERA (.52 behind Kimiyasu Kudo) and 9th in wins (10 behind Yoshinori Sato). He was also selected into the 1985 NPB All-Star Game, and he relieved Katsuo So in the 9th inning of Game 2. Shibata pitched a shutout inning with 2 strikeouts (against Tadashi Matsumoto and Warren Cromartie). He then relieved So in the 9th inning in Game 3, and he pitched another shutout inning with 2 strikeouts (versus Yoshihiko Takahashi and Tatsunori Hara) to close the door for the PL against the Central League.

Shibata was still a solid starter in 1986, and he attended the 1986 NPB All-Star Game. Replacing Brad Lesley in the 8th inning of Game 1, he pitched 1 1/3 shutout innings to notch a save. Shibata then succeeded Hisanobu Watanabe in the 8th inning in Game 3, but he allowed a RBI single to Randy Bass in his inning. He ended up 14-9 with a 3.38 ERA and ranked 2nd in wins (2 behind Watanabe). He suffered a right elbow injury in the middle of the 1987 season, so he only had 6 starts in 1987 and 8 starts in 1988. After recovering from the injury, Shibata was 9-12 with a 3.76 ERA in 1989.

The 1990 season was another fine season for Shibata. He completed the first no-hitter of the Heisei era on April 25, and he had a 12-10 record with a 3.11 ERA. Shibata ranked 6th in wins (6 behind Hideo Nomo and Watanabe), 3rd in complete games (12, 9 behind Nomo), 3rd in ERA (.20 behind Nomo) and 5th in strikeouts (137 behind Nomo). He was selected into the 1991 NPB All-Star Game, and he pitched 2 shutout innings. The veteran was 9-9 with a 2.48 ERA in 1991, and he ranked 2nd in ERA (.07 behind Tomio Watanabe).

Shibata was 6-12 with a 3.16 ERA in 1992, and he had a 7-11 record with a 3.55 ERA in 1993. He had a heart attack before the 1994 season, so he announced his retirement. Shibata then became the pitching coach for the Fighters from 1995 to 1997.

Overall, Shibata was 84-97 with a 3.49 ERA; he struck out 1,084 and pitched 1,621 2/3 innings in 15 years in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio
• 1991 NPB All-Star Game