Masahiro Yamamoto (baseball)
Japanese baseball player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Masahiro 'Masa' Yamamoto (山本昌 (Yamamoto Masa), real name: 山本昌広 (Yamamoto Masahiro), born August 11, 1965, in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture) is a left-handed, retired Japanese professional baseball pitcher. A screwballer, Yamamoto pitched for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball for 29 years from 1986 to 2015. He is the oldest Japanese pitcher to win a baseball game.[1] With 200+ career victories, he is a member of Meikyukai.
| Masa Yamamoto | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: August 11, 1965 Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| NPB debut | |
| October 16, 1986, for the Chunichi Dragons | |
| Last NPB appearance | |
| October 7, 2015, for the Chunichi Dragons | |
| NPB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 219–165 |
| Earned run average | 3.45 |
| Strikeouts | 2,310 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the Japanese | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2022 |
| Vote | 85.0%（307/361） |
Biography
Yamamoto attended Nichidai Fujisawa High School, and was selected at age 18 by Chunichi.[2]
Yamamoto was the Central League Earned Run Average Champion in 1993, posting a 2.05 ERA. He won the 1994 Eiji Sawamura Award, going 19–8 with 3.49 ERA and 14 complete games.
On September 16, 2006, Yamamoto threw a no-hitter against the Hanshin Tigers, becoming the oldest pitcher in NPB to throw a no-hit game.
On September 5, 2014, Yamamoto won his first and only start of the season at Nagoya Dome in a shutout match against the Hanshin Tigers, making him the oldest Japanese pitcher to win a game, at 49 years, 25 days, surpassing the old mark of 48 years, 4 months set by the Hankyu Braves’ Shinji Hamazaki in 1950.[2] During the game, he threw 90 pitches in five scoreless innings, gave up five hits and a walk, and striking out two.
Yamamoto has pitched in six Japan Series with the Dragons, with his team winning once (in 2007).
Other activities
Yamamoto is a well known RC model aficionado, and came in 4th place in a RC tournament in 2002.[3] He has also hosted an RC model TV show on Fuji TV ONE titled Yamamoto Masa no Rajiko Dojo.[4]
In addition, Yamamoto also has owned shares of racehorses, with his most successful horses being Al Ain and Shahryar.[5]
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