Shinnosuke Abe
From BR Bullpen
Shinnosuke Abe
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 194 lb.
- Born March 20, 1979 in Urayasu, Chiba Japan
The number one pick of the Yomiuri Giants in 2001, Shinnosuke Abe has emerged as one of the top catchers in Nippon Pro Baseball.
Abe was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts as the backup to Akihito Fujii at catcher for the Japanese national team in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup. The 18-year-old amateur was on the Japanese team that handed Cuba its first Gold Medal game loss in a major event in 15 years. Abe hit .300/.356/.500 in the 1998 Baseball World Cup. He was the club's right fielder. He appeared in the 1999 Asian Championship. He went 2 for 18 with 2 walks and a double in a woeful turn at the 2000 Olympics. In the 2001 Baseball World Cup, he batted .265/.316/.471 with 8 RBI in 10 games for #4 Japan.
After a .223/.293/.373 as a rookie starter, he improved to .298/.377/.478 in 2002. He was named to the Best Nine team as the best backstop in the Central League and hit 18 homers; he played a role on the Giants team that won the Japan Series that year. He kept improving in '03, hitting .303/.392/.500 though he missed the Best Nine. In 2004 he had an even better year at the plate, hitting to the tune of .301/.391/.625 with 33 HR. He was third behind Greg LaRocca and Hiroki Kokubo in slugging percentage and again missed out on a Best Nine. Early in the year he had a shot at breaking Sadaharu Oh's Central League home run record before fading as the year progressed. The Giants set a new NPB home run record thanks to Abe, Kokubo, Tuffy Rhodes, Yoshinobu Takahashi and Roberto Petagine all hitting 29 or more.
In '05, Abe dipped a bit to .300/.365/.498 with 26 homers. He finished 10th in the Central in OPS and slugging. On a Giants team noted for not developing players and instead relying on free agent signings, Abe represented the top home-grown product. In 2006, his production fell further with a .294/.349/.427 line and only 10 home runs.
Abe's 3-run homer off of Masahiro Tanaka in the second NPB All-Star Game of 2007 helped give the Central League its sixth straight win; Abe was named MVP and won the 2 million yen prize for being so honored.
In the 2007 season, Abe rebounded, hitting .275/.355/.513 with 33 home runs and 101 RBI. He drove in the most runs on a team loaded with sluggers like Takahashi, Seung-yeop Lee and Michihiro Ogasawara. He was 5th in the CL in homers, tied Shuichi Murata for 4th in RBI, led in sacrifice flies (10) and was sixth in slugging percentage. He made the Best Nine as the top catcher in the Central League.
Abe batted .769/.769/.923 in the 2007 Asian Championship to lead Japan to the title and a spot in the 2008 Olympics. He scored two and drove in four in three games and led the Championship in average. Abe was named tournament MVP.
After his great work in the Olympic qualifiers, Abe struggled in the 2008 Olympics, going just 3 for 25 with a walk and a homer. His solo homer against Wen-Hsiung Hsu helped give Japan the lead in its win over Taiwan. On the other hand, his throwing error allowed the South Koreans a key insurance win in a 5-3 loss by Japan. He also made the final outs in their semifinal loss (to South Korea) and their Bronze Medal game loss (to Team USA).
In the 2008 season, Abe hit .271/.350/.502 with 24 HR. He tied Michihiro Ogasawara for 9th in the Central League in doubles (27) and tied Norihiro Nakamura for 7th in homers. He won a Gold Glove and was picked to the Best Nine. A shoulder injury kept him from catching in the 2008 Japan Series, but he went 4 for 10 with a double and a homer as a DH and PH. Unfortunately, Yomiuri lost the Series.
Abe backed up Kenji Johjima in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, going 1 for 6 for the tourney champions. His only hit was a single off Jae-woo Lee.
