Motoki Higa

Motoki Higa (比嘉 幹貴)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.

• School International Budo University
• High School Koza High School

• Born December 7, 1982 in Okinawa, Okinawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Sidearm pitcher Motoki Higa pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 15 years.

Higa represented Japan in the 2009 Baseball World Cup; at the time, he was with Hitachi in the industrial leagues. He defeated Croatia's Grgur Marušić and Simon Pantophlet of the Netherlands Antilles. He finished 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA and 18 K in 13 1/3 IP, tying Atsushi Tanaka for the team lead in ERA. He was picked by the Orix Buffaloes in the second round of the 2009 NPB draft, and he had a solid 1.25 ERA in 24 relief outings in 2010. He struggled in 2011 as his ERA rose to 7.15 in 23 games, and he only pitched 12 games with a 1.80 ERA in 2012. Higa broke out in 2013, and he notched 11 holds with a solid 2.12 ERA in 59 relief outings. He was 6th in games in the Pacific League. Higa extended his solid performance in 2014, and his ERA was 0.79 in 62 relief outings with 20 holds. He broke the Pacific League record as he pitched 34 consecutive games without allowing a run. He ranked 6th in appearances, tied with Naoki Miyanishi and Yoshihisa Hirano.

The Okinawa native suffered from a right shoulder injury in 2015, and he missed most of the season. He had a 4.82 ERA in 16 games in 2016, and he only got 8 appearances in 2017. Higa came back in 2018, and he collected 9 holds with a 2.04 ERA in 43 games. His ERA rose to 4.59 in 45 games in 2019, then he had a 0.71 ERA in 20 appearances in 2020. Higa recorded a solid 1.77 ERA in 32 relief outings with 11 holds in 2021, and he pitched a shutout inning with 2 Ks in the 2021 Nippon Series Game 1. The Buffaloes won the game thanks to Masataka Yoshida's RBI hit, and Higa got the win over Scott McGough. He then got a hold with 1/3 of a shutout inning in Game 3, and he added 1/3 of a shutout inning in Game 4. Higa notched a hold with 2/3 of a shutout inning in Game 6, but the Buffaloes lost to the Yakult Swallows.

Higa then collected 5 holds with a 2.53 ERA in 30 appearances in 2022, and he shined in the 2022 Nippon Series. He pitched a shutout inning in each of Game 1 and 2, then he completed 2/3 of a shutout inning in Game 3. Higa then got a hold with 2/3 of a shutout inning in Game 4, then he collected another hold in Game 7 with 2/3 of a shutout inning. He notched 3 holds in 5 appearances in the entire series, and he didn't allowed a single run to help the Buffaloes beat the Swallows in 7 games. Higa extended his reliable performance in 2023, and his ERA was 2.25 in 31 games. He pitched a shutout inning in the 2023 Nippon Series Game 4, and the Buffaloes lost to the Hanshin Tigers in 7 games. He only got 5 appearances in 2024, and he announced his retirement. Higa was Orix's pitching coach in 2025.

Overall, Higa went 26-11 with a 2.65 ERA, collected 93 holds and 3 saves in 418 appearances, struck out 288 and pitched 339 2/3 innings in 15 seasons in NPB. As of 2024, he was 56th in holds in NPB history, between Jay Jackson and Shinya Okamoto.

Sources

• Wiki Japan