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Nobuhiko Matsunaka was born on December 26, 1973 in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan. He is a professional baseball player and plays first base for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Japan Pacific League.
Matsunaka has had a great career so far in Japan. He made his Debut in 1997, and by 1999, he helped the Hawks win the Japan Series in 5 games over the Chunichi Dragons. The following year, he helped the Hawks reach the Japan Series again, but blew a 2-0 series lead to the Yomiuri Giants and lost in 6 games, hitting 1 for 20 (1 HR) throughout the series. Despite the failure in the Japan Series, Matsunaka won the Pacific League MVP, as he hit .312 with 33 Home Runs and drove in 106.
In 2001, he hit .334, along with 36 home runs and 122 RBIs.
After only batting .260 in 2002, Matsunaka bounced back and helped the Hawks win the 2003 Japan Series in 7 over the Hanshin Tigers. He batted .320/30/123 with his first RBI title.
2004 was without a doubt his best season. He won the Triple Crown by hitting .358/44/120 and helped the Hawks make the playoffs, but fell in 5 to the Seibu Lions and was blame for the loss with his 2 for 16 hitting performance. He won his second MVP of his career.
2005, he hit .315/46/121, leading the league in home runs and RBIs again, but his Hawks again fell in the playoffs in 5 games to the Chiba Lotte Marines. Also, he was blamed for the loss again, with disastrous hitting 1 for 19.
Matsunaka participated in the World Baseball Classic, helping Japan win the tournament.
He won his 2nd batting title in 2006, hitting .324, but his power numbers were down to 19 home runs and 76 RBIs. He helped the Hawks dispatch the Seibu Lions in round 1, but got swept in the Pacific League playoffs round 2 by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. The 2007 season proved to be disastrous for Matsunaka. He battled injuries all season long, and between hamstring pulls and other knee issues, he had his worst season since 2002, batting only .266 with 15 home runs. Another reason for his terrible numbers was the lack of protection in the lineup. From 2004 to 2006, Matsunaka had Julio Zuleta hitting behind him in the order. In the 2007 offseason, the Hawks signed aging 3B Hiroki Kokubo to protect Matsunaka, but Kokubo was injured and ineffective himself, limiting the number of pitches Matsunaka got to see.
Matsunaka is a two time Olympian, representing Japan in Atlanta in 1996 before he entered the professional baseball and in Sydney in 2000. He was one of the first baseball players participating the Olympic Games as a pro. He won a silver medal in 1996. Though he had hit a grand slam at the 1996 Olympic Games final against Cuba, Japan was defeated by 9-13. In 2000, Japan was defeated by Korea at the Bronze medal competition, ending up with empty hands.
Matsunaka is a career .311 hitter with 262 home runs and 838 RBIs. He signed a 7 year contract after the 2005 season, insuring he will finish his career in Japan.
