Kiyoshi Nakahata

Kiyoshi Nakahata (中畑 清)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 176 lb.

• School Komazawa University
• High School Asaka Commercial High School

• Born January 6, 1954 in Nishi Shirakawa-gun, Fukushima Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kiyoshi Nakahata played 13 seasons for the Yomiuri Giants and made six All-Star teams.

Nakahata was MVP of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area University Baseball League's fall season as a sophomore. He hit .350 in college and was picked in the 3rd round by Yomiuri in the 1975 NPB draft. He debuted in Nippon Pro Baseball in 1977, going 2 for 5. In 1978, he went deep off Mario Soto in an exhibition game. He was 1 for 3 that year for Yomiuri. Becoming a starter in 1979, Nakahata batted .294/.312/.474. He hit .268/.315/.453 in 1980, socking 22 home runs. Nakahata tied Jitsuo Mizutani for 9th in homers in the Central League.

The Fukushima native moved from third base to first base in 1981 to replace the retiring Sadaharu Oh; he hit .322/.352/.512 with 16 homers, no Oh but certainly acceptable. He made the CL All-Star team, and he was 2-for-6 in the 1981 NPB All-Star Games with a RBI double against Shigekazu Mori in Game 2 and a RBI triple off Kazumi Takahashi in Game 3. He led the league in triples, and he was 7th in the CL in average (between Koji Yamamoto and Jim Lyttle). It would be his best season in average but not in OPS. He hit .250/.333/.375 in the 1981 Japan Series to help Yomiuri take the title.

Nakahata fell to .267/.322/.500 in 1982 with 25 home runs. He won the first of 7 NPB Gold Gloves at first base, and he was 1-for-4 in the 1982 NPB All-Star Games. He was 6th in RBI (between Tomio Tashiro and Ken Macha), 4th in triples and 7th in homers (between Tashiro and Jim Lyttle). Nakahata batted .300/.333/.466 in 1983 with 15 homers and 13 steals in 14 tries. He won his second Gold Glove, and made his third All-Star team; he went 0-for-5 in the 1983 NPB All-Star Games. He hit .259/.333/.444 in the 1983 Japan Series, which Yomiuri dropped to the Seibu Lions in seven games.

Kiyoshi hit .294/.364/.548 with a career-high 31 home runs, 78 runs and 83 RBI in 1984. He was an All-Star and Gold Glove winner, and he shined in the 1984 NPB All-Star Games. Nakahata was 2-for-5 with a double versus Masayuki Matsunuma in Game 1, hit a solo shot off Yutaro Imai in Game 2 and added a 2-run home run against Shoji Kawahara in Game 3. He was 5 doubles shy from CL doubles leader Kazunori Shinozuka, and he ranked 6th in homers (tied with Sachio Kinugasa and Macha), 9th in hits (tied with Noriyoshi Sano) and 10th in RBI (between Leon Lee and Tatsunori Hara).

Nakahata's batting line read .294/.334/.478 with 18 home runs and a career-high 32 doubles in 1985. He was two doubles behind leader Warren Cromartie, and he was 10th in hits (between Yoshihiko Takahashi and Shinozuka). Nakahata was an All-Star for the 5th time (1-for-3 in the 1985 NPB All-Star Games) and Gold Glove winner for a 4th time. He became the first head of the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association in 1985 and held that role for four years until succeeded by Tatsunori Hara. Nakahata hit .273/.313/.441 in 1986 and won his fifth straight Gold Glove. He tied Carlos Ponce, Cromartie and Kiyoyuki Nagashima for 6th in doubles.

In 1987, he batted .321/.367/.437 with just 6 homers while taking another Gold Glove. He was sixth in the CL in average (between Sadaaki Yoshimura and Randy Bass) and 7th in doubles. He was just 3 for 20 with 2 walks and a homer in the 1987 Japan Series, as Seibu beat the Giants again. Nakahata hit .295/.338/.453 with 36 doubles, most in the league in 1988. He also led the league by grounding into 18 double plays, and he won his 7th Gold Glove in a row. Nakahata made his sixth and last All-Star team, and he went 1-for-4 with a double against Shinichi Kato in the 1988 NPB All-Star Games

Nakahata batted .221/.302/.327 in 49 games in 1989. He was 1 for 5 in the 1989 Japan Series, won by Yomiuri over the Kintetsu Buffaloes. In Game 7, the last of his career, he went deep in the crucial 8-5 win. Nakahata later was a baseball commentator on NTV. He coached for the Giants. When Shigeo Nagashima (Nakahata's former skipper) had a stroke prior to the 2004 Olympics, Kiyoshi took over the helm of the Japanese national team and led them to a Bronze Medal. As a member of the Sunrise Party, he ran for office for 2010. He became manager of the Yokohama BayStars for 2012. His teams finished 46-86-13 (last) in 2012, 64-79-1 (5th) in 2013, 67-75-2 (5th) in 2014 and 62-80-1 (last) in 2015; he was then replaced by Alex Ramirez.

Overall, Nakahata hit .290/.334/.474 with 250 doubles and 171 home runs in 1,248 career games in NPB. As of 2025, he was 49th in batting, between Koji Yamamoto and Akinori Iwamura.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• Defunct Japan Baseball Daily site by Gary Garland