Tomoaki Kanemoto
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese professional baseball
outfielder
with the Hanshin Tigers
in Nippon Professional Baseball.
The Tigers' current cleanup hitter
, Kanemoto is regarded as one of the most accomplished hitters
in Japanese professional baseball history and has hit more home run
s in his career (430) than any other left-handed hitter who throws right-handed. He also holds the world record for consecutive games played without missing an inning (1492, ending on April 18).
, as a third-generation Korean (he obtained Japanese citizenship in 2001). He began playing baseball in the fourth grade
for the Hiroshima Central Little League club, but quit the team after a year because he could not keep up during team practices. After playing both baseball and softball
for various teams while attending junior high, Kanemoto enrolled in Koryo High School, where he became the team's cleanup hitter in his second year (the equivalent of eleventh grade
in the United States) and played in the outfield
as well as at third base
and pitcher
. Although Koryo High had a reputation as a baseball powerhouse, they failed to reach any national tournaments
in Kanemoto's three years there. He hit 20 home runs during his high school career.
in his first year
at Tohoku Fukushi University. His team, which consisted of notable players like pitchers Kazuhiro Sasaki
and Takashi Saito
, catcher
Akihiro Yano
, outfielder Koji Otsuka and shortstop
/second baseman
Chihiro Hamana, all of whom would later go on to the pros
, earned berths in four consecutive All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series. (Kanemoto and Yano are teammates on the Tigers today.) Though they lost in the third round against Kinki University
in the 38th annual tournament in (Kanemoto's sophomore year), they were the runners-up
in the 37th and 39th tournaments (in and , respectively), and won their first national title in the 40th annual tournament in , Kanemoto's senior
year.
Following the tournament, Kanemoto was chosen to play in the 20th U.S.-Japan Collegiate All-Star Baseball Games, sharing a room with then-Toyo University
outfielder Shinjiro Hiyama
, whom he would also later become teammates with upon joining the Tigers, during the series. Kanemoto was picked in the fourth round of the 1991 NPB draft
by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
.
and Akira Etoh began to make names for themselves at the ichigun (Japanese equivalent of "major league") level. He showed so little power that hitting coaches would tell him to try to slap the ball and use his speed to get on base more and earned the rather unflattering nickname "Mole
Killer" for his habit of throwing the ball into the ground when trying to make a strong throw on the defensive end.
Frustrated by his shortcomings and realizing that he would be soon released from the team if he did not improve dramatically, Kanemoto began a rigorous weight training
regimen and, with the help of then-coach Kazuyoshi Yamamoto, made his way into the starting lineup in the later half of the season, hitting 17 home runs that year. He continued to make strides with his bat in , hitting .274 with 24 home runs (including his first career grand slam
off then-Tigers left-hander Toshiro Yufune on August 10) and earning his first Best Nine Award
.
monthly Most Valuable Player
award that September and hitting the first walk-off home run
of his career off then-Swallows reliever
Hiroto Kato on September 11. He added a career-high 33 home runs to the .300-plus average and drove in 82 RBI
in , but struggled in , hitting just .253 with 21 homers and 74 RBI. However, he rebounded from the down year by hitting .293 with 34 home runs and 94 RBI (both career highs) in , playing in all 136 games and hitting for the cycle
on April 24 against the Chunichi Dragons
.
In , Kanemoto was made the team's cleanup hitter by default after Etoh's departure for the Yomiuri Giants
via free agency
, and he responded by hitting .315 with 30 home runs and a career-high 30 stolen base
s, becoming just the seventh player in NPB history to have a .300-30-30 (batting average
, home runs, stolen bases) season. The following season , he set a new Japanese professional baseball record by going 1002 consecutive plate appearance
s without grounding into a double play
and drew 128 walks
, the fifth-highest single-season total in NPB history and the most by any player other than Sadaharu Oh
.
Kanemoto declared for free agency in the off-season. Despite recognizing that Kanemoto was an invaluable asset to the team, the low-budget Carp upheld their longtime policy of not pursuing any player of their own that opts to declare for free agency (an attempt by the Carp to hold down their payroll
). After weeks of negotiations, Kanemoto eventually signed with the Central League rival Hanshin Tigers
.
6 and appointed the Tigers' new No. 3 hitter amidst hopes that he would change the very culture of the Tigers organization, a perennial cellar-dweller that had finished last in the Central League four times in the last five years. He committed himself to his new secondary role in the lineup
, hitting just .289 with 19 home runs and 18 stolen bases but focusing on moving runners over and taking pitches
so that teammate and fellow outfielder Norihiro Akahoshi
could steal (he led the league with 61 stolen bases that year). Kanemoto played an integral role in leading the Tigers to their first league title in 18 years. In the Japan Series
that followed the regular season, he hit four home runs, homering in three consecutive games and twice in one game (all three tying the previous Japan Series record). However, the Tigers lost to the Hawks four games to three, failing to win the championship.
Akinobu Okada
. He hit the fourth walk-off home run of his career off then-Dragons ace
Kenshin Kawakami
(currently with the Atlanta Braves
) on May 8 in a classic 1-0 pitchers' duel. However, he was hit by a pitch
by Dragons closer
Hitoki Iwase
on July 29, tearing the cartilage
on his left wrist. While his streak of consecutive games played without missing an inning was thought to be in jeopardy, Kanemoto borrowed a lighter bat from teammate Teruyoshi Kuji and continued to play through the injury, setting a new Nippon Professional Baseball record of 701 on August 1. Despite such adversity, he put up some of his best numbers to date, hitting .317 with 34 home runs and a career-high 113 RBI and leading the league in RBI for the first time.
Yusaku Iriki
in an interleague game against the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
on June 10 made him just the fourth player in NPB history to hit a home run against every team in both the Central and Pacific
leagues. His home run on June 28 at Yonago
Municipal Baseball Stadium gave him the distinction of having hit home runs in the most ballparks (32) of any active NPB player (Kazuhiro Yamauchi
holds the all-time record with 39).
Kanemoto reached several notable milestones this year, playing in 1000 consecutive games on August 11 against the Dragons, recording his 1000th run scored
on August 25 and his 1000th RBI on September 9 (both against the Carp). He also hit his 40th home run of the season on October 4, becoming the first Tigers player since Randy Bass
in to hit 40 home runs in a season and the first since the "Lucky Zone", the short porch in right field
, was removed from Koshien Stadium
. Kanemoto finished the year with career highs in every Triple Crown
category, hitting .327 with 40 homers and 125 RBI and leading the league in runs scored (120), total bases (344), slugging percentage (.615) and OPS
(1.044) at the age of 37. He led the Tigers to another league titles and was voted the Central League Most Valuable Player for the first time in his career.
for consecutive innings played of 8243 on March 31 , and set a new world record for consecutive games played without missing an inning with 904 on April 9 in a game against the Yokohama BayStars
(the previous record was also held by Ripken). He reached his milestone 1000th consecutive game played without missing an inning on August 15 against the BayStars, finishing the season with a .303 average, 26 home runs and 98 RBI.
to his left knee (a season-ending injury for many players), slowing him down both in the field and on the basepaths, some even alleged that Kanemoto was just "playing for his [consecutive games] streak" and that he was "hurting the team by continuing to play in such conditions" by taking playing time away from some of the Tigers' younger players. He underwent surgery on his left knee for the first time in his life in October.
on April 6 , but did not get his 2000th hit (the 37th player to accomplish the feat in Japanese professional baseball history) until April 12 in a game against the BayStars. His hitless stretch of three games and 15 at-bats
between his 1999th and 2000th career hit was an NPB record. (Incidentally, teammate Takahiro Arai
, who played with Kanemoto on both the Carp and the Tigers, got his 1000th career hit in the same game.) He won his third monthly MVP award that June
, hitting .413 with six home runs and 20 RBI. Though the Tigers narrowly lost the pennant race to the rival Giants, Kanemoto finished the season with a .307 average, 27 home runs and 108 RBI, bouncing back from a disappointing 2007 campaign. He underwent surgery on his knee for the second straight year during the off-season.
of his left knee, Kanemoto went on a torrid streak to begin the season, hitting .521 with eight home runs and 25 RBI and slugging 1.146 through the first twelve games of the season. He homered in the Tigers' season opener against the Swallows on April 3, his 41st birthday, and hit three home runs in a game for the first time in his career on April 8 against the Carp, making history when he repeated the feat on April 10 against the Giants and became the first player in NPB history to homer in three consecutive plate appearances twice in the same month. Though he cooled down after his initial streak, he hit .379 with eight homers and 30 RBI in April
, setting a career high for RBI in a single month, leading the Central League in all three Triple Crown categories and winning his fourth monthly MVP award. He also had three walk-off hits early in the season, a two-run double off Carp closer Katsuhiro Nagakawa
on April 7, an RBI single off BayStars reliever Yuya Ishii
on April 30, and a walk-off home run off Carp reliever Ryuji Yokoyama on May 12, the Tigers' 7000th franchise home run.
Bold indicates league leader; statistics current as of 2009
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
with the Hanshin Tigers
Hanshin Tigers
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...
in Nippon Professional Baseball.
The Tigers' current cleanup hitter
Cleanup hitter
In baseball, the cleanup hitter is the hitter who bats fourth in the lineup. Although the third man up is generally the hitter with the highest batting average, cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best power hitter; their job is to "clean up the...
, Kanemoto is regarded as one of the most accomplished hitters
Batting (baseball)
In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher...
in Japanese professional baseball history and has hit more home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in his career (430) than any other left-handed hitter who throws right-handed. He also holds the world record for consecutive games played without missing an inning (1492, ending on April 18).
Early life and high school career
Kanemoto was born in Minami-ku, HiroshimaMinami-ku, Hiroshima
is one of the eight wards of the city of Hiroshima, Japan....
, as a third-generation Korean (he obtained Japanese citizenship in 2001). He began playing baseball in the fourth grade
Fourth grade
Fourth grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The fourth grade is the fourth school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 9 or 10 years old, depending on their birthday. It is a part of elementary school. In some parts of the United States, fourth grade...
for the Hiroshima Central Little League club, but quit the team after a year because he could not keep up during team practices. After playing both baseball and softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
for various teams while attending junior high, Kanemoto enrolled in Koryo High School, where he became the team's cleanup hitter in his second year (the equivalent of eleventh grade
Eleventh grade
Eleventh Grade is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16 or 17 years of age, depending on the country and the students' birthdays.-Brazil:...
in the United States) and played in the outfield
Outfield
The outfield is a sporting term used in cricket and baseball to refer to the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield...
as well as at third base
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
and pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
. Although Koryo High had a reputation as a baseball powerhouse, they failed to reach any national tournaments
High school baseball in Japan
In Japan, high school baseball generally refers to the two annual baseball tournaments played by high schools nationwide culminating at a final showdown at Hanshin Kōshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Japan...
in Kanemoto's three years there. He hit 20 home runs during his high school career.
College career
Kanemoto earned a spot in the starting lineupStarting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
in his first year
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
at Tohoku Fukushi University. His team, which consisted of notable players like pitchers Kazuhiro Sasaki
Kazuhiro Sasaki
Kazuhiro "Daimajin" Sasaki is a former Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played his entire NPB career with the Yokohama Taiyo Whales / Yokohama BayStars...
and Takashi Saito
Takashi Saito
is a Japanese professional baseball player.Saito previously pitched for the Yokohama BayStars in the Japanese Central League, compiling a record of 87–80 over 13 seasons...
, catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
Akihiro Yano
Akihiro Yano
is a former Japanese baseball player in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He started his career as the Number 2 Draft pick with the Chunichi Dragons in , and played for the Hanshin Tigers from 1998 until his retirement in 2010.-References:...
, outfielder Koji Otsuka and shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
/second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
Chihiro Hamana, all of whom would later go on to the pros
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
, earned berths in four consecutive All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series. (Kanemoto and Yano are teammates on the Tigers today.) Though they lost in the third round against Kinki University
Kinki University
, or , is a private non-sectarian and coeducational university based in Higashiosaka, Osaka, Japan with campuses in five other locations: Nara, Nara; Ōsakasayama, Osaka; Uchita, Wakayama; Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima; and Iizuka, Fukuoka....
in the 38th annual tournament in (Kanemoto's sophomore year), they were the runners-up
Runner-up
Runner-up is a term used to denote a participant which finishes in second place in any of a variety of competitive endeavors, most notably sporting events and beauty pageants; in the latter instance, the term is applied to more than one of the highest-ranked non-winning contestants, the...
in the 37th and 39th tournaments (in and , respectively), and won their first national title in the 40th annual tournament in , Kanemoto's senior
Senior (education)
Senior is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the 4th year of study .-High school:...
year.
Following the tournament, Kanemoto was chosen to play in the 20th U.S.-Japan Collegiate All-Star Baseball Games, sharing a room with then-Toyo University
Toyo University
Toyo University is a university with several branches in Japan, including .- Overview :...
outfielder Shinjiro Hiyama
Shinjiro Hiyama
is a Japanese baseball player from Ukyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. He plays as an outfielder for the Hanshin Tigers of the Central League.He made public that he is a Zainichi Korean in 2004 .-Biography:...
, whom he would also later become teammates with upon joining the Tigers, during the series. Kanemoto was picked in the fourth round of the 1991 NPB draft
Draft (sports)
A draft is a process used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Russia and the Philippines to allocate certain players to sports teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players...
by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Hiroshima Toyo Carp
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder , which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family . Because of that,...
.
Early years: 1992 to 1995
Kanemoto showed little promise in his first two seasons in the pros, falling behind as younger hitters like Tomonori MaedaTomonori Maeda
is a Nippon Professional Baseball player for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Japan's Central League.-External links:*...
and Akira Etoh began to make names for themselves at the ichigun (Japanese equivalent of "major league") level. He showed so little power that hitting coaches would tell him to try to slap the ball and use his speed to get on base more and earned the rather unflattering nickname "Mole
Mole (animal)
Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
Killer" for his habit of throwing the ball into the ground when trying to make a strong throw on the defensive end.
Frustrated by his shortcomings and realizing that he would be soon released from the team if he did not improve dramatically, Kanemoto began a rigorous weight training
Weight training
Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It uses the weight force of gravity to oppose the force generated by muscle through concentric or eccentric contraction...
regimen and, with the help of then-coach Kazuyoshi Yamamoto, made his way into the starting lineup in the later half of the season, hitting 17 home runs that year. He continued to make strides with his bat in , hitting .274 with 24 home runs (including his first career grand slam
Grand slam (baseball)
In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners , thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves...
off then-Tigers left-hander Toshiro Yufune on August 10) and earning his first Best Nine Award
Best Nine Award
The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists.-History:...
.
1996 to 2002
Kanemoto hit over .300 for the first time in his career in as the Carp's No. 5 hitter, winning the Central LeagueCentral League
The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League...
monthly Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
award that September and hitting the first walk-off home run
Walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game—either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning...
of his career off then-Swallows reliever
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
Hiroto Kato on September 11. He added a career-high 33 home runs to the .300-plus average and drove in 82 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
in , but struggled in , hitting just .253 with 21 homers and 74 RBI. However, he rebounded from the down year by hitting .293 with 34 home runs and 94 RBI (both career highs) in , playing in all 136 games and hitting for the cycle
Hitting for the cycle
In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are uncommon in Major League Baseball , occurring 293 times since the first by Curry...
on April 24 against the Chunichi Dragons
Chunichi Dragons
The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:...
.
In , Kanemoto was made the team's cleanup hitter by default after Etoh's departure for the Yomiuri Giants
Yomiuri Giants
The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the...
via free agency
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
, and he responded by hitting .315 with 30 home runs and a career-high 30 stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s, becoming just the seventh player in NPB history to have a .300-30-30 (batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, home runs, stolen bases) season. The following season , he set a new Japanese professional baseball record by going 1002 consecutive plate appearance
Plate appearance
In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance each time he completes a turn batting. A player completes a turn batting when: He strikes out or is declared out before reaching first base; or He reaches first base safely or is awarded first base ; or He hits a fair ball which...
s without grounding into a double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....
and drew 128 walks
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
, the fifth-highest single-season total in NPB history and the most by any player other than Sadaharu Oh
Sadaharu Oh
Sadaharu Oh, or Wang Chenchih , is a retired Japanese-Taiwanese baseball player and manager. He batted and threw left-handed and primarily played first base. Oh, who was born in Sumida, Tokyo the son of a Taiwanese father and a Japanese mother, had originally signed with the powerhouse Yomiuri...
.
Kanemoto declared for free agency in the off-season. Despite recognizing that Kanemoto was an invaluable asset to the team, the low-budget Carp upheld their longtime policy of not pursuing any player of their own that opts to declare for free agency (an attempt by the Carp to hold down their payroll
Payroll
In a company, payroll is the sum of all financial records of salaries for an employee, wages, bonuses and deductions. In accounting, payroll refers to the amount paid to employees for services they provided during a certain period of time. Payroll plays a major role in a company for several reasons...
). After weeks of negotiations, Kanemoto eventually signed with the Central League rival Hanshin Tigers
Hanshin Tigers
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...
.
2003
For the season, Kanemoto was given the uniform numberSquad number
In team sports, the squad number, shirt number, jersey number, sweater number, uniform number or simply a number is the number worn on a player's uniform, to identify and distinguish each player from others wearing the same or similar uniforms...
6 and appointed the Tigers' new No. 3 hitter amidst hopes that he would change the very culture of the Tigers organization, a perennial cellar-dweller that had finished last in the Central League four times in the last five years. He committed himself to his new secondary role in the lineup
Batting order (baseball)
The batting order, or batting lineup, in baseball is the sequence in which the nine members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher. The batting order is the main component of a team's offensive strategy. The batting order is set by the manager before the game begins...
, hitting just .289 with 19 home runs and 18 stolen bases but focusing on moving runners over and taking pitches
Pitch (baseball)
In baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball toward home plate to start a play. The term comes from the Knickerbocker Rules. Originally, the ball had to be literally "pitched" underhand, as with pitching horseshoes. Overhand throwing was not allowed until 1884.The biomechanics of...
so that teammate and fellow outfielder Norihiro Akahoshi
Norihiro Akahoshi
is a retired Nippon Professional Baseball player from Kariya, Aichi, Japan. He played as an outfielder for the Hanshin Tigers.Akahoshi announced his retirement on December 9, 2009. During the 2009 season, he was first deactivated in early July after sustaining a neck injury...
could steal (he led the league with 61 stolen bases that year). Kanemoto played an integral role in leading the Tigers to their first league title in 18 years. In the Japan Series
Japan Series
, or is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a seven-game series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League....
that followed the regular season, he hit four home runs, homering in three consecutive games and twice in one game (all three tying the previous Japan Series record). However, the Tigers lost to the Hawks four games to three, failing to win the championship.
2004
In , Kanemoto returned to the cleanup spot following the appointment of new managerManager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Akinobu Okada
Akinobu Okada
is the manager for the Orix Buffaloes baseball team in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball....
. He hit the fourth walk-off home run of his career off then-Dragons ace
Ace (baseball)
In baseball, an ace is the best starting pitcher of any team and nearly always the first pitcher in his starting rotation. Barring injury or exceptional circumstances, an ace usually always starts on Opening Day...
Kenshin Kawakami
Kenshin Kawakami
Kenshin Kawakami is a right-handed Japanese professional baseball starting pitcher, who is a free agent.-Japanese career:...
(currently with the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
) on May 8 in a classic 1-0 pitchers' duel. However, he was hit by a pitch
Hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...
by Dragons closer
Closer (baseball)
In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer , is a relief pitcher who specializes in closing out games, i.e., getting the final outs in a close game. Closers often appear when the score is close, and the role is often assigned to a team's best reliever. A small number of...
Hitoki Iwase
Hitoki Iwase
Hitoki Iwase is a Japanese professional baseball player from Nishio, Aichi, Japan. He is a closing pitcher....
on July 29, tearing the cartilage
Cartilage
Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
on his left wrist. While his streak of consecutive games played without missing an inning was thought to be in jeopardy, Kanemoto borrowed a lighter bat from teammate Teruyoshi Kuji and continued to play through the injury, setting a new Nippon Professional Baseball record of 701 on August 1. Despite such adversity, he put up some of his best numbers to date, hitting .317 with 34 home runs and a career-high 113 RBI and leading the league in RBI for the first time.
2005
Kanemoto began the season well, hitting .291 in the month of April and following it up by hitting .404 with eight home runs and 29 RBI in May, earning his second career monthly MVP award. His walk-off home run (the fifth such home run of his career) off relieverRelief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
Yusaku Iriki
Yusaku Iriki
is a Japanese former baseball pitcher.-Biography:Iriki attended the Perfect Liberty High School and Asia University before joining the Honda amateur baseball team. He was drafted by the Yomiuri Giants in . In , his older brother, Satoshi, was traded to the Giants from the Kintetsu Buffaloes, and...
in an interleague game against the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at the Sapporo Dome. The Fighters also host a select number of regional home games in cities across Hokkaidō,...
on June 10 made him just the fourth player in NPB history to hit a home run against every team in both the Central and Pacific
Pacific League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series...
leagues. His home run on June 28 at Yonago
Yonago, Tottori
is a city located in the northwest of Tottori Prefecture, Japan, facing the Sea of Japan, and adjacent to Shimane. It is the prefecture's second largest city after Tottori and therefore a commercial center of the western part of this prefecture....
Municipal Baseball Stadium gave him the distinction of having hit home runs in the most ballparks (32) of any active NPB player (Kazuhiro Yamauchi
Kazuhiro Yamauchi
was a Japanese baseball player and manager. He played for the Mainichi Orions, the Hanshin Tigers and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp over the span of an 18 season-long career ....
holds the all-time record with 39).
Kanemoto reached several notable milestones this year, playing in 1000 consecutive games on August 11 against the Dragons, recording his 1000th run scored
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
on August 25 and his 1000th RBI on September 9 (both against the Carp). He also hit his 40th home run of the season on October 4, becoming the first Tigers player since Randy Bass
Randy Bass
is a former American baseball player and current politician. He is less notable for his career in Major League Baseball than for his success in Japan's Hanshin Tigers of Central League, where he had the most spectacular run of any American to ever play in Japan...
in to hit 40 home runs in a season and the first since the "Lucky Zone", the short porch in right field
Right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
, was removed from Koshien Stadium
Koshien Stadium
is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on April 1, 1924. It was the largest stadium in Asia at the time it was completed, with a capacity of 55,000.The name Kōshien comes...
. Kanemoto finished the year with career highs in every Triple Crown
Triple crown (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, a player earns the Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories. For batters, a player must lead the league in home runs, run batted in , and batting average; pitchers must lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average...
category, hitting .327 with 40 homers and 125 RBI and leading the league in runs scored (120), total bases (344), slugging percentage (.615) and OPS
On-base plus slugging
On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League...
(1.044) at the age of 37. He led the Tigers to another league titles and was voted the Central League Most Valuable Player for the first time in his career.
2006
Kanemoto broke the world record held by Cal Ripken, Jr.Cal Ripken, Jr.
Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. , nicknamed "Iron Man", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles ....
for consecutive innings played of 8243 on March 31 , and set a new world record for consecutive games played without missing an inning with 904 on April 9 in a game against the Yokohama BayStars
Yokohama BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium....
(the previous record was also held by Ripken). He reached his milestone 1000th consecutive game played without missing an inning on August 15 against the BayStars, finishing the season with a .303 average, 26 home runs and 98 RBI.
2007
Kanemoto had somewhat of a down year in , putting up 31 homers and 95 RBI but batting just .265 and recording his lowest OPS (.843) since 1998. That the Tigers finished last in the NPB in team batting average and runs scored might also have been a contributing factor to the media's criticism of Kanemoto. As he chose to play through a meniscus tearTear of meniscus
In sports and orthopedics, a tear of a meniscus is a rupturing of one or more of the fibrocartilage strips in the knee called menisci. When doctors and patients refer to "torn cartilage" in the knee, they actually may be referring to an injury to a meniscus at the top of one of the tibiae. Menisci...
to his left knee (a season-ending injury for many players), slowing him down both in the field and on the basepaths, some even alleged that Kanemoto was just "playing for his [consecutive games] streak" and that he was "hurting the team by continuing to play in such conditions" by taking playing time away from some of the Tigers' younger players. He underwent surgery on his left knee for the first time in his life in October.
2008
Kanemoto recorded his 1999th career hitHit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
on April 6 , but did not get his 2000th hit (the 37th player to accomplish the feat in Japanese professional baseball history) until April 12 in a game against the BayStars. His hitless stretch of three games and 15 at-bats
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
between his 1999th and 2000th career hit was an NPB record. (Incidentally, teammate Takahiro Arai
Takahiro Arai
Takahiro Arai is a Japanese professional baseball player of Korean descent for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.-External links:...
, who played with Kanemoto on both the Carp and the Tigers, got his 1000th career hit in the same game.) He won his third monthly MVP award that June
June 2008
June 2008 was the sixth month of the leap year. It began on a Sunday and ended after 30 days on a Monday.-International holidays and commemorations:* June 8 – Dragon Boat Festival * June 9 – Shavuot...
, hitting .413 with six home runs and 20 RBI. Though the Tigers narrowly lost the pennant race to the rival Giants, Kanemoto finished the season with a .307 average, 27 home runs and 108 RBI, bouncing back from a disappointing 2007 campaign. He underwent surgery on his knee for the second straight year during the off-season.
2009
Despite having to sit out virtually all of Spring Training due to rehabPhysical therapy
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
of his left knee, Kanemoto went on a torrid streak to begin the season, hitting .521 with eight home runs and 25 RBI and slugging 1.146 through the first twelve games of the season. He homered in the Tigers' season opener against the Swallows on April 3, his 41st birthday, and hit three home runs in a game for the first time in his career on April 8 against the Carp, making history when he repeated the feat on April 10 against the Giants and became the first player in NPB history to homer in three consecutive plate appearances twice in the same month. Though he cooled down after his initial streak, he hit .379 with eight homers and 30 RBI in April
April 2009
April 2009 was the fourth month of that year. It began on a Wednesday and ended after 30 days on a Thursday.- Portal:Current events :This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from April 2009....
, setting a career high for RBI in a single month, leading the Central League in all three Triple Crown categories and winning his fourth monthly MVP award. He also had three walk-off hits early in the season, a two-run double off Carp closer Katsuhiro Nagakawa
Katsuhiro Nagakawa
is a Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Japan's Central League.-External links:...
on April 7, an RBI single off BayStars reliever Yuya Ishii
Yuya Ishii
is a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan's Pacific League. He previously played for the Yokohama BayStars.-External links:...
on April 30, and a walk-off home run off Carp reliever Ryuji Yokoyama on May 12, the Tigers' 7000th franchise home run.
Career statistics
| Nippon Professional Baseball | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Team | G Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,... |
AB At bat In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance... |
R Run (baseball) In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured... |
H Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice.... |
2B Double (baseball) In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... |
3B Triple (baseball) In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... |
HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process... |
TB Total bases In baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i.e., the sum of his hits weighted by 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run.Only bases attained from hits count toward this total.... |
RBI Run batted in Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI... |
SB Stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate... |
AVG Batting average Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :... |
OBP | SLG | OPS On-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League... |
| 24 | Hiroshima Hiroshima Toyo Carp The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder , which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family . Because of that,... |
5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .250 | .000 | .250 | |
| 25 | 42 | 89 | 9 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 9 | 0 | .191 | .242 | .360 | .602 | ||
| 26 | 90 | 257 | 41 | 69 | 14 | 2 | 17 | 138 | 43 | 2 | .268 | .345 | .537 | .882 | ||
| 27 | 104 | 369 | 72 | 101 | 15 | 1 | 24 | 190 | 67 | 14 | .274 | .381 | .512 | .896 | ||
| 28 | 126 | 423 | 84 | 127 | 18 | 2 | 27 | 230 | 72 | 18 | .300 | .407 | .544 | .951 | ||
| 29 | 133 | 465 | 77 | 140 | 17 | 2 | 33 | 260 | 82 | 13 | .301 | .404 | .559 | .963 | ||
| 30 | 133 | 499 | 77 | 126 | 33 | 3 | 21 | 228 | 74 | 9 | .253 | .347 | .457 | .804 | ||
| 31 | 135 | 502 | 84 | 147 | 21 | 2 | 34 | 274 | 94 | 10 | .293 | .382 | .546 | .928 | ||
| 32 | 136 | 496 | 96 | 156 | 20 | 2 | 30 | 270 | 90 | 30 | .315 | .415 | .544 | .959 | ||
| 33 | 140 | 472 | 101 | 148 | 28 | 1 | 25 | 253 | 93 | 19 | .314 | .463 | .536 | .999 | ||
| 34 | 140 | 540 | 80 | 148 | 30 | 2 | 29 | 269 | 84 | 8 | .274 | .348 | .498 | .846 | ||
| 35 | Hanshin Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly... |
140 | 532 | 94 | 154 | 24 | 2 | 19 | 239 | 77 | 18 | .289 | .399 | .449 | .848 | |
| 36 | 138 | 521 | 92 | 165 | 32 | 4 | 34 | 307 | 113 | 5 | .317 | .406 | .589 | .995 | ||
| 37 | 146 | 559 | 120 | 183 | 35 | 3 | 40 | 344 | 125 | 3 | .327 | .429 | .615 | 1.044 | ||
| 38 | 146 | 545 | 85 | 165 | 24 | 4 | 26 | 275 | 98 | 2 | .303 | .393 | .505 | .897 | ||
| 39 | 144 | 533 | 74 | 141 | 17 | 3 | 31 | 257 | 95 | 1 | .265 | .361 | .482 | .843 | ||
| 40 | 144 | 535 | 87 | 164 | 33 | 2 | 27 | 282 | 108 | 2 | .307 | .392 | .527 | .919 | ||
| 41 | 144 | 518 | 66 | 135 | 37 | 0 | 21 | 235 | 91 | 8 | .261 | .368 | .454 | .822 | ||
| Career | 2186 | 7858 | 1340 | 2286 | 401 | 35 | 442 | 4083 | 1415 | 162 | .291 | .390 | .520 | .910 | ||
Bold indicates league leader; statistics current as of 2009
External links
- Tomoaki Kanemoto Official Blog (Japanese)
- THE GOLDEN PLAYERS CLUB (Japanese)