Norihiro Nakamura
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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|---|---|
| Free Agent — No. | |
| Third Baseman | |
| Born: July 24, 1973 | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| April 10, 2005 for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through end of 2005) |
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| Avg | .128 |
| RBI | 3 |
| HR | 0 |
| Teams | |
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Baseball | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | Athens 2004 | Team Competition | |
Norihiro Nakamura(中村 紀洋, born July 24, 1973) is a Japanese professional baseball third baseman.
[edit] Career
He was born in Osaka, Japan, and spent almost all of his professional career in Japan with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. Drafted in 1992, Nakamura began to emerge as one the leading power hitters in Nippon Professional Baseball in 1995. From 1998 to 2002, he had six consecutive 40-home run, 100-RBI seasons, setting career highs in average (.320) homers (46) and RBIs (132) in 2001.
In 2002, he signed a two-year, $7 million contract with the New York Mets, but, after word leaked out before he could formally notify the Osaka Kintetu Buffaloes management, Nakamura rejected the deal and re-signed with Kintetsu over considerable controversey. In 2003, he suffered a torn knee cartilage, and his offensive numbers began to decline. However, he hit well while participating in a spring training exchange program with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004.
In 2005, Nakamura walked away from a guaranteed $10 million two-year contract in Japan to sign a $500,000 non-guaranteed minor league deal with the Dodgers as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training. He made his MLB debut for the Dodgers on April 10, 2005. Highly touted from his playing days in Japan, he received the opportunity to win the Dodgers starting third base role after the Dodgers lost their starting third baseman, Adrian Beltre, to free agency in the offseason. However, Nakamura managed only a .128 batting average with no home runs and 3 runs batted in. He was optioned to the Las Vegas 51s, the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate, by mid-May. He would remain with the 51s the remainder of the season, after which the Dodgers granted him his release.
In 2006, he resigned with the Orix Buffaloes, playing primarily as a designated hitter. He finished 2006 with .232 average, 12 homers and 45 RBIs. He signed a one-year deal for just 4,000,000 yen (about $34,000) as a trainee with the Chunichi Dragons on February 25, 2007. He signed a one-year deal for 6,000,000 yen (about $50,000) as a player on March 22, 2007. His annual income declined due to many troubles, but he got over the shock and was crowned the MVP of the 2007 Japan Series. The 2007 season became the first season for him to win the Japan Series.
During his career in Japan, Nakamura has a .263 career batting average, 319 home runs and 962 RBIs, and has been an eight-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner.
[edit] External links
- Japanesebaseball.com - Nippon Professional Baseball career statistics
- [1]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
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