Makoto Imaoka is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 professional baseball player from 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....

, Hyōgo

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

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Imaoka spent several uneventful seasons in the Japanese professional leagues before being chosen as the lead-off batter by Senichi Hoshino

Senichi Hoshino

, 22 January 1947, is a former Japanese professional baseball player and current manager.In 2003, he led the Tigers to their first Central League pennant in 18 years before retiring for health reasons. Since 2007, He had managed the Japanese national team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.In October,...

, who managed 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...

 from 2002-2004. Imaoka won the batting title in 2003 with a .340 batting average, and his team won the Central League

Central 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...

 pennant the same year. He had previously played shortstop and second base, but was converted to third base in 2004. He continued his hitting prowess, and led the league with 147 RBIs in 2005. He fell into a huge slump in 2006, and missed half of the season due to injuries.

He won a silver medal playing for the Japanese national team in the 1996 Summer Olympics

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 before entering the Japanese professional leagues.

Career statistics(through 2010)

SEASON	TEAM	Squad number	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG
1997	HT 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...	7	98	252	18	63	11	1	2	20	1	.250
1998			133	471	48	138	20	3	7	44	6	.293
1999			128	457	36	115	11	1	6	39	4	.252
2000			40	113	8	24	5	0	1	2	0	.212
2001			123	400	36	107	15	0	4	40	3	.268
2002			122	505	46	160	40	0	15	56	0	.317
2003			120	485	67	165	35	1	12	72	1	.340
2004			138	572	87	175	29	0	28	83	0	.306
2005			146	559	71	156	26	2	29	147	1	.279
2006			59	204	16	45	3	2	7	29	1	.220
2007			85	323	23	90	8	0	4	24	0	.279
2008			55	169	15	29	3	0	7	29	0	.172
2009			23	30	0	4	2	0	0	2	0	.133
2010	CLM 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:...	2	26	44	3	10	2	0	0	6	0	.227
Total		|1296	4584	474	1281	210	10	122	593	17	.279

External links