Ryosuke Miyaguni

Ryosuke Miyaguni (宮國 椋丞)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 167 lb.
• High School Itoman High School

• Born April 17, 1992 in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Japan

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Ryosuke Miyaguni pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 12 years.

Miyaguni represented Itoman High School from Itoman, Okinawa in the 2011 spring Koshien tournament. He was the first player in his school's history to make it to NPB. The Yomiuri Giants selected him in the second round of the 2010 NPB draft, and he first appeared at the top level, in the Central League in 2012. His rookie season in 2012 was excellent, as he went 6-2, 1.86 in 17 games. By being the winning pitcher in his NPB debut on April 8, 2012, he became the first teenager to win a game for Yomiuri since Hiromi Makihara 29 years earlier. He turned 20 two weeks later. When he was a 20-year-old rookie in the 2012 Japan Series, Miyaguni pitched perhaps the most memorable game of his career. He started Game 4 on October 31st against fellow youngster Masaru Nakamura of the Nippon Ham Fighters; both pitchers were excellent, not giving up any runs over 7 innings in a game that was only decided in the bottom of the 12th and final inning, 1-0 in favor of the Fighters. It was his only appearance of the series, which Yomiuri won, four games to two. The team then followed that win by also winning the 2012 Asian Series. He was the winner in the championship game of that series on November 11th, giving up 1 run in 6 innings in a 6-3 win over the Lamigo Monkeys, representing the CPBL.

However, Miyaguni fell to 6-7, 4.93 in 2013 after being named his team's opening day starter, replacing ace Tetsuya Utsumi who had just taken part in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He never developed into the star pitcher many had expected. He put up some decent ERAs over the years, for example going 4-1, 2.95 in 2016, but generally has been a middle reliever and a marginal member of his teams' pitching staffs. Yomiuri won pennants in his first two seasons, 2012 and 2013, and again in 2019 and 2020, but the team that once outrageously dominated Japanese baseball won only one Nippon Series during his tenure. Miyaguni was released by the Giants in 2020, and the Yokohama BayStars signed him. However, he only pitched 22 more games for the top team in the next three seasons, and he announced his retirement in 2023.

Overall, Miyaguni was 22-22 with 21 holds and a 3.93 ERA, struck out 291 and pitched 472 innings in 12 seasons in NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan