Yukio Shimabara

Yukio Shimabara (島原 幸雄)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 156 lbs.

• High School Matsuyama Commercial High School

• Born April 21, 1933 in Matsuyama, Ehime Japan
• Died December 28, 1994 in Matsuyama, Ehime Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yukio Shimabara pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years.

Shimabara was signed by the Nishitetsu Lions in 1952, and he pitched 15 games with a 5.79 ERA in his rookie year. As a reliever, Shimabara had a 3.22 ERA in 27 games in 1953, then his ERA was 2.29 in 23 games in 1954. Shimabara then recorded a 3.15 ERA in 21 games in 1955, and there were rumors that the Lions would trade him to the Nankai Hawks for Yosuke Terada. He didn't wanted to be traded, so he exercised a lot after the 1955 season, and he broke out in the next year.

The Matsuyama native had his career year in 1956, having a 25-11 record with a solid 1.35 ERA. He led the Pacific League with 74 appearances and 373 2/3 innings, and he also broke Yasuo Hayashi's NPB record for most games pitched in a season (broken by Kazuhisa Inao in 1959). Shimabara was 3rd in wins (between Takao Kajimoto and Atsushi Aramaki), 2nd in ERA (.29 behind Inao), 3rd in complete games (15, between Fumio Takechi and Masayoshi Miura) and 2nd in strikeouts (74 behind Kajimoto). He was also selected into the 1956 NPB All-Star Games, and he was named the starter of Game 1. Shimabara pitched 2 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts (against Kenjiro Tamiya and Shigeru Fujio) to get the win in Game 1, then he allowed a run in 2 innings in Game 2.

In the 1956 Nippon Series, he pitched 3 shutout innings with 3 strikeouts in Game 1, then he relieved Inao in the 5th inning of Game 2. Shimabara only surrendered a solo shot to Tetsuharu Kawakami in 4 1/3 innings, and he got the win over Takehiko Bessho. The Lions then named him the starter of Game 4, and he pitched 3 shutout innings. He recorded another 1 1/3 shutout innings in Game 5, and he won his first Nippon Series title as the Lions beat the Yomiuri Giants in 6 games.

Shimabara was 13-5 with a 1.61 ERA in 1957, and he appeared in the 1957 Nippon Series. He relieved Hisafumi Kawamura in the 5th inning of Game 4, and he pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings with 4 strikeouts. Shimabara then succeeded Kawamura in the 8th inning in Game 5, and he recorded 1 2/3 of a shutout innings to get the win over Yoshinori Kido. The Lions beat the Giants again and won the title. Shimabara had a 11-7 record with a 2.65 ERA in 1958, and he started in 1958 Nippon Series Game 2. He didn't retire any batters, and Takayuki Hata replaced him after he walked two and allowed 2 singles. He then pitched 3 shutout innings in Game 5, and he won this third title as the Lions beat the Giants in 7 games.

The sidearm pitcher was 12-11 with a 2.39 ERA in 1959, and he was selected into the 1959 NPB All-Star Games. He relieved Inao in the 6th inning of Game 1, and he pitched 3 shutout innings while fanning six (Toru Mori twice, Akira Owada, Shigeru Fujio, Hideshi Miyake and Yoshitaka Kosaka). Shimabara slumped to 8-8 with a 3.44 ERA in 1960, and he was removed from the rotation in 1961. He had a 3.06 ERA in 35 appearances in 1961, and his ERA was 3.48 in 19 relief outings in 1962. Shimabara jumped to the Hiroshima Carp in 1963 , but he didn't pitch any games with the big club then he announced his retirement.

Overall, Shimabara was 85-56 with a 2.37 ERA, struck out 827 and pitched 1,390 1/3 innings in 11 years in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• Bio
• 1959 NPB All-Star Game