Hiroyuki Nakajima
Encyclopedia
is a shortstop
for the Saitama Seibu Lions.
Nakajima played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics
as well as the 2009 World Baseball Classic
for the Japanese national team
and is regarded as one of the most talented young stars in Japanese professional baseball today.
, a city in Hyogo
, Japan. He was a pitcher
during his days at Itami Municipal
Sakuradai Elementary School
, playing in a national tournament alongside batterymate
Katsuki Yamazaki (who would become a catcher
for the rival Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
a decade later). He played for Takarazuka
Senior while attending Itami Municipal Tennōjigawa Junior High School
, receiving offers to play for high school baseball
powerhouses in other prefectures
by coaches
who came to see him play.
Nakajima opted to apply to the prestigious Hōtoku Gakuen High School
within the prefecture but was rejected and ended up enrolling in Itami Kita Senior High School, a local school and a complete unknown in high school baseball. He worked his way into the starting lineup
in his first year (the equivalent of tenth grade
in the United States), playing right field
that summer and becoming the team's leadoff hitter
by his second
.
Nakajima hit
43 home run
s out of the leadoff spot in his high school career and took the mound as the team's ace pitcher
in his last two years, but his team never came particularly close to making a national tournament, losing in the fourth round of the Hyogo Tournament in the last summer of Nakajima's high school career. However, despite such relative anonymity, Nakajima was picked by the Seibu Lions in the fifth round of the NPB amateur draft
. He was the 57th overall pick (out of 86 players) in that year's
draft.
season
. He recorded seven errors
at shortstop, a position
he rarely played in high school, and hit just .105 (2-for-19) in 30 games with the Lions' nigun team (Japanese for "minor league
" or "farm team").
He made substantial improvements in his second season , winning the starting shortstop job at the nigun level and becoming the only player in the league
to play all 90 games. He led the Eastern League
in hits
, runs scored
, sacrifice flies
and hit-batters
and came second in batting average
(.299) and fourth in runs batted in
(47), hitting 11 home runs to top it off. However, he also grounded into 10 double play
s and committed 25 errors, leading the league in both categories. He was called up to the ichigun ("major league") team for the first time towards the end of the season, making his professional
debut at the level in a game against the Nippon Ham Fighters on October 6 as the designated hitter
and getting his first career hit off right-hander Satoru Kanemura in the same game.
Nakajima hit a team-high .306 with 13 home runs for the Lions' nigun team in . He played 44 games at the ichigun level, hitting his first career home run off then-Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Hayato Terahara on August 5 and recording his first career stolen base
on August 12 against the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. He finished the year with a .258 batting average, four homers and 11 RBI, and was given the uniform number 3 during the off-season as a testament to the organization's hopes that he would become the successor to former shortstop and franchise player Kazuo Matsui
, who left for the New York Mets
via free agency
.
Tsutomu Ito
continued to start him despite criticism that he wasn't ready to be the starting shortstop, and Nakajima lived up to expectations by hitting over .300 until May and finishing the year with a .287 batting average, 27 home runs, 90 RBI and 18 stolen bases, contributing to the Lions' league title and Japan Series
championship. Nakajima was the only player in the Pacific League
to play all 133 games without missing an inning. He was also voted to the Pacific League All-Star
team by the managers and coaches.
, Nakajima took a grounder that took a bad hop to the face, breaking his cheekbone and missing a significant amount of playing time. While he still finished the season with enough plate appearance
s to qualify for the batting title, he hit just .274 with 11 home runs and 11 stolen bases, grounding into 17 double plays (third in the Pacific League) and committing 10 errors (more than any other shortstop in the league).
right-hander Hiroki Yamamura on July 30, breaking the fourth metacarpal bone in his left hand. After returning to the team on September 12, Nakajima hit well, even ranking among the league leaders in batting average for a short span of time (he finished the season with a .306 average, fourth-highest in the league). However, he left much to be desired with his glovework, leading all Pacific League shortstops in errors (16) for the second straight year.
. He hit .343 and led the league in batting average in the first half of the season, playing in the All-Star Game for the fourth time of his career (though he was relegated to third base
due to the selections of shortstops Munenori Kawasaki
of the Hawks and Tsuyoshi Nishioka
of the Chiba Lotte Marines
and committed an error on a bad throw) and even seeing time as the team's cleanup hitter
when teammates and resident power hitters Craig Brazell
and G.G. Sato
were slumping.
While his batting average dipped after returning to Japan following the Olympics
, Nakajima hit .331 for the season, finishing second only to Eagles outfielder
Rick Short
, who won the batting title by a mere .0007 points. He hit 21 home runs and recorded career highs in on-base percentage (.410, leading the league), slugging percentage (.527), walks
(55) and stolen bases (25). Moreover, Nakajima also made improvements with his glove
, cutting his errors to 12 and winning his first Golden Glove award. He was chosen to the Best Nine
that year and even prompted many sportswriters to name him the league Most Valuable Player
(though the award eventually went to Eagles ace Hisashi Iwakuma
, who went 21-4 with a 1.87 ERA
).
, Nakajima had a somewhat quiet start to the regular season, hitting .292 with 14 RBI in the month
of April but failing to hit a single home run. He broke out of an 0-for-11 slump with a game-winning RBI double
in the twelfth inning off reliever
Yoshinori Tateyama
in a May 1 game against the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
, though, and carried that momentum into the next game, homering off Fighters left-hander Shugo Fujii in his first at-bat
(and his 95th of the season) on May 2.
at third base with veteran Shinya Miyamoto
as a result of fellow middle infielders Munenori Kawasaki and Tsuyoshi Nishioka (who both had better defensive reputations than Nakajima) being chosen, but ended up playing at his natural position from the second game onwards due to Kawasaki's injury in the first game of the tournament against Cuba
. Nakajima played in all nine games, hitting .296 and driving in five runs out of both the 9- and 3-hole, but Japan lost in the semi-finals against South Korea on August 22 and dropped the bronze medal match against the United States
on August 23 in a disappointing fourth-place finish behind South Korea, Cuba and the United States.
outfielder Ichiro Suzuki
. He went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI in Japan's 14-2 rout of South Korea in the first round
on March 7 and 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI in Japan's 9-4 win over the United States in the semi-finals. Though he missed two games due to a high fever
in the second round that was held in San Diego
, he played an instrumental role in Japan's championship run, hitting .364 with a .516 on-base percentage (leading all hitters on the Japanese team with 20 or more plate appearances) and driving in seven runs.
high above his head
, much like the jōdan no kamae seen in Kendo
(a Japanese
martial art
). Currently the No. 3 hitter in the Lions lineup, Nakajima is an aggressive hitter that likes to swing early in the count, drawing few walks (though he has improved in this regard in the last few seasons) but often being hit by pitches. He is a spray hitter with legitimate opposite-field power and good speed on the basepaths.
His playing style has often been compared to that of a young Kazuo Matsui (who currently plays second base
for the Houston Astros
).
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...
for the Saitama Seibu Lions.
Nakajima played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from August 13 to August 23. All games were played at Wukesong Baseball Field, a temporary venue constructed at the Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center...
as well as the 2009 World Baseball Classic
2009 World Baseball Classic
The 2009 World Baseball Classic was an international baseball competition. It is the only international baseball tournament to feature a large number of players from the major leagues of North America and Asia. It began on March 5, 2009, and finished March 23, 2009.Japan emerged victorious for the...
for the Japanese national team
Japan national baseball team
The Japan national baseball team is the national baseball team representing Japan in international competitions. They are one of the more successful baseball teams in the world, having won the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009...
and is regarded as one of the most talented young stars in Japanese professional baseball today.
Early life and high school career
Nakajima was born in ItamiItami, Hyogo
is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.As of 2008, the city had an estimated population of 194,488 and a population density of 7,790 persons per km². The total area is 24.97 km².The center of Itami became a wealthy town by the middle of Sengoku period...
, a city in Hyogo
Hyogo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...
, Japan. He was a 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...
during his days at Itami Municipal
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
Sakuradai Elementary School
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
, playing in a national tournament alongside batterymate
Battery (baseball)
In baseball, the term battery refers collectively to the pitcher and the catcher, who may also be called batterymen or batterymates of one another.- History :...
Katsuki Yamazaki (who would become a 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...
for the rival Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
The are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were...
a decade later). He played for Takarazuka
Takarazuka, Hyogo
is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.- Geography :Takarazuka is nestled between the Rokko Range to the west and Nagao Range to the north with the Muko River running through the center of the city....
Senior while attending Itami Municipal Tennōjigawa Junior High School
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
, receiving offers to play for high school baseball
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...
powerhouses in other prefectures
Prefectures of Japan
The prefectures of Japan are the country's 47 subnational jurisdictions: one "metropolis" , Tokyo; one "circuit" , Hokkaidō; two urban prefectures , Osaka and Kyoto; and 43 other prefectures . In Japanese, they are commonly referred to as...
by coaches
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
who came to see him play.
Nakajima opted to apply to the prestigious Hōtoku Gakuen High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
within the prefecture but was rejected and ended up enrolling in Itami Kita Senior High School, a local school and a complete unknown in high school baseball. He worked his way into the starting 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...
in his first year (the equivalent of tenth grade
Tenth grade
In majority of the world,Tenth grade is the tenth year of school post-kindergarten. The variants of "10th grade" in various nations is described below.-Australia:...
in the United States), playing 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...
that summer and becoming the team's leadoff hitter
Leadoff hitter
In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the lineup. It can also refer to any batter who bats first in an inning.- Strategy :...
by his second
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:...
.
Nakajima hit
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...
43 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 out of the leadoff spot in his high school career and took the mound as the team's ace pitcher
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...
in his last two years, but his team never came particularly close to making a national tournament, losing in the fourth round of the Hyogo Tournament in the last summer of Nakajima's high school career. However, despite such relative anonymity, Nakajima was picked by the Seibu Lions in the fifth round of the NPB amateur 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...
. He was the 57th overall pick (out of 86 players) in that year's
Calendar year
Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day. By convention, a calendar year consists of a natural number of days. To reconcile the calendar year with an astronomical cycle , certain years...
draft.
Early years: 2001 to 2003
Nakajima struggled mightily in his rookieRookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...
. He recorded seven errors
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
at shortstop, a position
Baseball positions
There are 9 fielding positions in baseball. Each position conventionally has an associated number which is used to score putouts...
he rarely played in high school, and hit just .105 (2-for-19) in 30 games with the Lions' nigun team (Japanese for "minor league
Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...
" or "farm team").
He made substantial improvements in his second season , winning the starting shortstop job at the nigun level and becoming the only player in the league
Sports league
League is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...
to play all 90 games. He led the Eastern League
Eastern League (Japanese baseball)
The is one of the two minor leagues of Japanese professional baseball. The league is owned and managed by the Central League.-History:The league was created in 1955, and contained the minor league teams of the seven professional teams that had their homefields in the Eastern region of Japan...
in hits
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....
, runs 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...
, sacrifice flies
Sacrifice fly
In baseball, a sacrifice fly is a batted ball that satisfies four criteria:* There are fewer than two outs when the ball is hit.* The ball is hit to the outfield....
and hit-batters
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:...
and came second in 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 :...
(.299) and fourth in runs batted in
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...
(47), hitting 11 home runs to top it off. However, he also grounded into 10 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"....
s and committed 25 errors, leading the league in both categories. He was called up to the ichigun ("major league") team for the first time towards the end of the season, making his professional
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....
debut at the level in a game against the Nippon Ham Fighters on October 6 as the designated hitter
Designated hitter
In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
and getting his first career hit off right-hander Satoru Kanemura in the same game.
Nakajima hit a team-high .306 with 13 home runs for the Lions' nigun team in . He played 44 games at the ichigun level, hitting his first career home run off then-Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Hayato Terahara on August 5 and recording his first career 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...
on August 12 against the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. He finished the year with a .258 batting average, four homers and 11 RBI, and was given the uniform number 3 during the off-season as a testament to the organization's hopes that he would become the successor to former shortstop and franchise player Kazuo Matsui
Kazuo Matsui
is a Japanese second baseman for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball. Matsui is a switch-hitter...
, who left for the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
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....
.
2004
The season proved to be a breakout year for Nakajima, earning a spot in the starting lineup as the No. 7 hitter for the ichigun team's season opener. 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...
Tsutomu Ito
Tsutomu Ito
Tsutomu Ito is the former manager of Nippon Professional Baseball's Seibu Lions. He was the number 1 draft pick for the Seibu Lions in 1982 and went on to play for them until 2003. He was talented at leading pitcher, and led his team to winning 12 Pacific League championships and 10 Japan Series...
continued to start him despite criticism that he wasn't ready to be the starting shortstop, and Nakajima lived up to expectations by hitting over .300 until May and finishing the year with a .287 batting average, 27 home runs, 90 RBI and 18 stolen bases, contributing to the Lions' league title and Japan Series
2008 Japan Series
The 2008 Japan Series was the 59th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff between the respective champions of the Central League's and the Pacific League's Climax Series . The Series began on Saturday, November 1, 2008, and went the full seven games...
championship. Nakajima was the only player in the Pacific League
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...
to play all 133 games without missing an inning. He was also voted to the Pacific League All-Star
Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Game
The Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Game is an annual baseball game between players from the Central League and the Pacific League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
team by the managers and coaches.
2005
On May 7 , in an interleague game against the Hiroshima Toyo CarpHiroshima 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,...
, Nakajima took a grounder that took a bad hop to the face, breaking his cheekbone and missing a significant amount of playing time. While he still finished the season with enough 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 to qualify for the batting title, he hit just .274 with 11 home runs and 11 stolen bases, grounding into 17 double plays (third in the Pacific League) and committing 10 errors (more than any other shortstop in the league).
2006
Rebounding from a disappointing 2005 campaign, Nakajima led all players with a .390 batting average in interleague play in and was chosen to the All-Star team for the second time in his career. However, he was hit by a pitch by Tohoku Rakuten Golden EaglesTohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
The is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,...
right-hander Hiroki Yamamura on July 30, breaking the fourth metacarpal bone in his left hand. After returning to the team on September 12, Nakajima hit well, even ranking among the league leaders in batting average for a short span of time (he finished the season with a .306 average, fourth-highest in the league). However, he left much to be desired with his glovework, leading all Pacific League shortstops in errors (16) for the second straight year.
2007
Nakajima was promoted to the 3-hole in the batting lineup for the , playing in his third All-Star Game and finshing among the league leaders in average (.300, fifth in the Pacific League) and hits (160, third) with 74 RBI. He was also the only player in either of the leagues to record an RBI in nine straight games. On the other hand, his 134 strikeouts were more than those in his previous two seasons combined (67 and 66 in 2005 and 2006, respectively) and his 20 errors led all Pacific League shortstops for the third consecutive season.2008
The season brought Nakajima his first stint with the Japanese national team as he was chosen to play in the 2008 Beijing Olympics2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. He hit .343 and led the league in batting average in the first half of the season, playing in the All-Star Game for the fourth time of his career (though he was relegated to 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...
due to the selections of shortstops Munenori Kawasaki
Munenori Kawasaki
is a Japanese shortstop for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He played for the Japanese national team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics.-Early life and high school career:...
of the Hawks and Tsuyoshi Nishioka
Tsuyoshi Nishioka
is a professional baseball infielder who currently plays for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Chiba Lotte Marines from 2003–10....
of the Chiba Lotte Marines
Chiba Lotte Marines
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by the Lotte conglomerate.-History:...
and committed an error on a bad throw) and even seeing time as the team's 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...
when teammates and resident power hitters Craig Brazell
Craig Brazell
Craig Walter Brazell is a professional baseball player and first baseman who currently plays for the Hanshin Tigers.-Early life:...
and G.G. Sato
G.G. Sato
is a professional Nippon Professional Baseball player for the Saitama Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League.-External links:...
were slumping.
While his batting average dipped after returning to Japan following the Olympics
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, Nakajima hit .331 for the season, finishing second only to Eagles 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...
Rick Short
Rick Short
Richard Ryan Short is a former Major League Baseball infielder who is currently a scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He retired in after playing for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Pacific League for four seasons. He bats and throws right-handed...
, who won the batting title by a mere .0007 points. He hit 21 home runs and recorded career highs in on-base percentage (.410, leading the league), slugging percentage (.527), 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...
(55) and stolen bases (25). Moreover, Nakajima also made improvements with his glove
Baseball glove
A baseball glove or mitt is a large leather glove that baseball players on the defending team are allowed to wear to assist them in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter, or thrown by a teammate.-History:...
, cutting his errors to 12 and winning his first Golden Glove award. He was chosen to the Best Nine
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:...
that year and even prompted many sportswriters to name him the league 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...
(though the award eventually went to Eagles ace Hisashi Iwakuma
Hisashi Iwakuma
is a Japanese professional baseball player. He is currently the starting pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.As the Eagles' reigning staff ace, Iwakuma won the Eiji Sawamura Award in and played in the 2004 Athens Olympics as well as the 2009 World Baseball Classic for the Japanese...
, who went 21-4 with a 1.87 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
).
2009
Coming off an impressive performance in the World Baseball ClassicWorld Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation and created by Major League Baseball , the Major League Baseball Players Association , and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world...
, Nakajima had a somewhat quiet start to the regular season, hitting .292 with 14 RBI in the month
Month
A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, which was first used and invented in Mesopotamia, as a natural period related to the motion of the Moon; month and Moon are cognates. The traditional concept arose with the cycle of moon phases; such months are synodic months and last approximately...
of April but failing to hit a single home run. He broke out of an 0-for-11 slump with a game-winning RBI double
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....
in the twelfth inning off 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...
Yoshinori Tateyama
Yoshinori Tateyama
is a Japanese Major League Baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers.As a sidearm pitcher Tateyama combines a fastball that averages 87 mph with a curveball, and he also pitches a screwball against lefties. While his strikeout totals were average, he got hitters out with his control .On November...
in a May 1 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,...
, though, and carried that momentum into the next game, homering off Fighters left-hander Shugo Fujii in his first at-bat
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...
(and his 95th of the season) on May 2.
2008 Beijing Olympics
Chosen to the Japanese national team for the first time in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nakajima was expected to platoonPlatoon system
The platoon system in baseball is a method of designating two players to a single defensive position—usually one right-handed and one left-handed. Typically the right-handed half of the platoon is played on days when the opposing pitcher is left-handed and the left-handed player is played otherwise...
at third base with veteran Shinya Miyamoto
Shinya Miyamoto
is a professional baseball player from Suita, Osaka, Japan. He plays shortstop for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.He was chosen as the captain of the Japanese olympic baseball team for the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, and won a bronze medal in 2004. He was also part of the 2006 World Baseball Classic...
as a result of fellow middle infielders Munenori Kawasaki and Tsuyoshi Nishioka (who both had better defensive reputations than Nakajima) being chosen, but ended up playing at his natural position from the second game onwards due to Kawasaki's injury in the first game of the tournament against Cuba
Cuba national baseball team
The Cuba national baseball team is the national team of Cuba. The team is made up of amateur players from the Cuban national baseball system, as there are no professional sports leagues in Cuba...
. Nakajima played in all nine games, hitting .296 and driving in five runs out of both the 9- and 3-hole, but Japan lost in the semi-finals against South Korea on August 22 and dropped the bronze medal match against the United States
United States national baseball team
The United States National Baseball team represents the United States in international baseball competition. The United States has won the previous two Baseball World Cups, having lost this title to the Netherlands in 2011, and is currently second in the IBAF World Rankings, behind Cuba.The team...
on August 23 in a disappointing fourth-place finish behind South Korea, Cuba and the United States.
2009 World Baseball Classic
Nakajima played in the second World Baseball Classic as a member of the national team, batting second behind leadoff man and current Seattle MarinersSeattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
outfielder Ichiro Suzuki
Ichiro Suzuki
, usually known simply as is a Major League Baseball right fielder for the Seattle Mariners. Ichiro has established a number of batting records, including the sport's single-season record for hits with 262...
. He went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI in Japan's 14-2 rout of South Korea in the first round
2009 World Baseball Classic - Round 1
The first round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic was played between March 5 and March 19, 2009 at four regional sites. The 16 teams were divided into four pools which played a double-elimination tournament. The winners for the first games matched up in the second game, while the losers faced each...
on March 7 and 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI in Japan's 9-4 win over the United States in the semi-finals. Though he missed two games due to a high fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
in the second round that was held in San Diego
PETCO Park
Petco Park is an open-air ballpark in downtown San Diego, California, USA. It opened in 2004, replacing Qualcomm Stadium as the home park of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres. Before then, the Padres shared Qualcomm Stadium with the NFL's San Diego Chargers...
, he played an instrumental role in Japan's championship run, hitting .364 with a .516 on-base percentage (leading all hitters on the Japanese team with 20 or more plate appearances) and driving in seven runs.
Hitting
Listed at 180 cm (70.9 in) and 83 kg (183 lb), Nakajima has a combination of speed and power that is rare among Japanese players. He is easily recognizable by his distinct batting stance in which he holds the batBaseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the game of baseball to hit the ball after the ball is thrown by the pitcher. It is no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches in length. It typically weighs no more than 33 ounces , but it...
high above his head
Head
In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose and mouth . Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do....
, much like the jōdan no kamae seen in Kendo
Kendo
, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...
(a Japanese
Culture of Japan
The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...
martial art
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
). Currently the No. 3 hitter in the Lions lineup, Nakajima is an aggressive hitter that likes to swing early in the count, drawing few walks (though he has improved in this regard in the last few seasons) but often being hit by pitches. He is a spray hitter with legitimate opposite-field power and good speed on the basepaths.
Fielding
Although he has occasionally manned third base during his professional career, Nakajima's primary position for the Lions is shortstop, relying on his great athleticism and excellent throwing arm to make highlight-reel plays. While he has been known to be somewhat sloppy at times, particularly on the throwing end, he has made strides in his glovework and won the Golden Glove award at shortstop for the first time in 2008.His playing style has often been compared to that of a young Kazuo Matsui (who currently plays second base
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...
for the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
).
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... |
| 18 | Seibu | Did not play at major league level | ||||||||||||||
| 19 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .143 | .143 | .143 | .286 | ||
| 20 | 44 | 89 | 12 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 40 | 11 | 1 | .258 | .327 | .449 | .776 | ||
| 21 | 133 | 502 | 70 | 144 | 22 | 3 | 27 | 253 | 90 | 18 | .287 | .349 | .504 | .853 | ||
| 22 | 118 | 405 | 56 | 111 | 21 | 2 | 11 | 169 | 60 | 11 | .274 | .327 | .417 | .744 | ||
| 23 | 105 | 412 | 76 | 126 | 22 | 1 | 16 | 198 | 63 | 14 | .306 | .368 | .481 | .849 | ||
| 24 | 143 | 533 | 68 | 160 | 28 | 5 | 12 | 234 | 74 | 9 | .300 | .361 | .439 | .801 | ||
| 25 | Saitama Seibu | 124 | 486 | 75 | 161 | 32 | 0 | 21 | 256 | 81 | 25 | .331 | .410 | .527 | .937 | |
| 26 | 144 | 560 | 100 | 173 | 31 | 3 | 22 | 276 | 92 | 20 | .309 | .398 | .493 | .891 | ||
| 27 | Saitama Seibu | 130 | 503 | 80 | 158 | 33 | 3 | 20 | 259 | 93 | 15 | .314 | .385 | .511 | .896 | |
| Career | 815 | 2994 | 457 | 899 | 159 | 15 | 113 | 1427 | 471 | 98 | .300 | .368 | .476 | .845 | ||