Munenori Kawasaki
From BR Bullpen
Munenori Kawasaki (Munerin)
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 156 lb.
- High School Kagoshima Kogyo High School
- Born June 3, 1981 in Aira-gun, Kagoshima Japan
Munenori Kawasaki was the 4th-round draft pick of the Daiei Hawks in 1999. He spent the next few years primarily in the minors. In 2001, he was 0 for 4 in his first time with Daiei. In '02, he hit .232/.259/.357 and won the ni-gun Western League batting title at .367. He also played for Japan in the 2002 Intercontinental Cup, batting .417/.563/.458 with 6 runs in 8 games, but he fielded .773 with five errors at third base. He was 7th in the tournament in batting average. Michel Enriquez beat him out as the All-Star 3B.
In 2003, he became a regular when 3B Hiroki Kokubo got injured and Kawasaki hit .294/.352/.377. His 9 triples were second in the Pacific League behind only Arihito Muramatsu and he was 3rd in the PL with 30 steals behind Tadahito Iguchi and Muramatsu. He was caught 16 times, the league record. He hit .391/.462/.609 with five runs in the 2003 Japan Series to help Daiei to the title.
The 2004 season was even more productive. Batting second behind Iguchi, Kawasaki hit .303/.387/.359 and led the PL with 42 steals (in 56 tries). He also led the loop in triples (8) and tied Nobuhiko Matsunaka for the most hits {171}. He made the Best Nine in the PL at shortstop and won a Gold Glove there as well. In 2005, at age 23/24, he slipped to .271/.326/.346 with 21 steals in 31 tries. He was chosen to play for Japan in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and was the regular shortstop; he hit .259/.333/.407 and stole two bases in two attempts, scoring six runs in eight contests for the winning club.
In 2006, Kawasaki batted .312/.364/.410 with 24 steals in 33 tries. He was 6th in the PL in average, 9th with 69 runs, 10th with 140 hits, tied three others for the triple lead (7), was third with 27 sacrifice hits, was 4th in steals (but tied for third in times caught as well) and 8th in OBP.
Kawasaki went 4 for 11 with two walks in the 2007 Asian Championship and was the tourney leader with two stolen bases. Japan won the title and clinched a spot in the 2008 Olympics.
Kawasaki became the first position player to be named interlague play MVP in Nippon Pro Baseball when he hit .366 in interleague competition in 2008. He won a 2 million yen prize as MVP.
Sources: Japanbaseballdaily.com by Gary Garland, World Baseball Classic website, Sergei Borisov's 2006 NPB site, IBAF site
