Sho Nakata facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sho Nakata |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg)
Nakata with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
|
|||
| Chunichi Dragons – No. 6 | |||
| First baseman, Outfielder | |||
| Born: April 22, 1989 Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan |
|||
|
|||
| debut | |||
| May 23, 2009, for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | |||
| NPB statistics (through 2023 season) |
|||
| Batting average | .250 | ||
| Hits | 1,523 | ||
| Home runs | 303 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,062 | ||
| Teams | |||
|
|||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
|
|||
Sho Nakata (中田 翔, Nakata Shō, born April 22, 1989, in Hiroshima), nicknamed "Sho Time", is a Japanese professional baseball player. He plays for the Chunichi Dragons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Before this, he played for the Yomiuri Giants and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Sho Nakata plays as an Outfielder and First baseman.
Contents
Sho Nakata's Baseball Journey
Starting Young: High School Baseball
When Sho Nakata was in high school, he played as a pitcher for Osaka Toin High School. His fastball was very fast, reaching about 94 miles per hour! In 2006, he played in Japan's National High School Baseball Championship. However, his team lost to a team led by another famous pitcher, Yuki Saito, in their second game.
Nakata was a highly talked-about player in high school. He hit an amazing 87 Home runs, which was a record in Japan. In November 2006, during a game, 17-year-old Nakata hit a home run that was thought to have traveled 550 feet! It went out of the park, over some houses, and landed across the street. This broke the old park record of 425 feet. Some American baseball teams, like the Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, and Seattle Mariners, were interested in him. Seattle even offered him $2.5 million. But Nakata decided to stay in Japan and play in Nippon Professional Baseball.
Playing for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters chose Sho Nakata as their first pick in the 2007 draft for high school players. He took over the number 6 jersey, which was once worn by a famous Fighters player, Yukio Tanaka.
In his first spring training in 2008, he had some challenges. He was sent to the minor league team (called "ni-gun" in Japan) to get more experience. He did well there, hitting .255 and getting 11 home runs. He missed the last two months of the season because of knee surgery.
Nakata really shined in the minor leagues in 2009. He tied the Eastern League record for RBIs with 95 and set a new home run record with 30. He played in 22 official games for the Fighters, making his debut on May 23. In his first time at bat in Nippon Professional Baseball, he hit a single.
In 2010, Nakata moved to play in the outfield. He missed two months again because of another knee surgery. He hit 9 home runs that year. His first NPB home run happened on July 20.
As a regular player in 2011, Nakata hit 18 home runs and had 91 RBI. He was one of the top players in the Pacific League for many stats. He was third in RBI and tied for third in home runs. He also had 32 doubles, which was second-best in the league.
He became the first Fighters player to hit at least 20 home runs for three years in a row since Michihiro Ogasawara. Nakata and then-rookie pitcher Shohei Ohtani were called the "O-N tandem of the Heisei Era." This name was a nod to the famous "O-N cannon" duo, Sadaharu Oh and Shigeo Nagashima, who played for the Yomiuri Giants a long time ago.
Nakata was named the most valuable player of the 2016 Pacific League Climax Series. This is a big award given to the best player in the playoff series. He was also chosen to play in the 2018 NPB All-Star game.
In August 2021, Nakata faced a team issue and was temporarily suspended.
Moving to the Yomiuri Giants
On August 20, 2021, Sho Nakata was traded to the Yomiuri Giants. This trade helped resolve his suspension. He played for the Giants until 2023.
Joining the Chunichi Dragons
On December 3, 2023, it was announced that Nakata signed a two-year contract with the Chunichi Dragons. He started playing for them in 2024.
Playing for Japan
Sho Nakata has played for the Japan national baseball team many times. He represented his country in:
- The 2013 World Baseball Classic
- Exhibition games against Chinese Taipei in 2013
- The 2014 MLB Japan All-Star Series
- Exhibition games against Europe in 2015
- The 2015 WBSC Premier12
- The 2017 World Baseball Classic
