Shigeki Noguchi

Shigeki Noguchi (野口 茂樹)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 196 lb.
• High School Tanba High School

• Born May 13, 1974 in Toyo, Ehime Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shigeki Noguchi pitched in the Nippon Pro Baseball for 14 years, once being named MVP.

Noguchi was the number three draft pick of the Chunichi Dragons in the 1993 NPB draft. They farmed him out to the Central Valley Rockies, where he dazzled. Noguchi was 8-3 with a 2.55 ERA, the second-best ERA in the California League; he also topped the circuit with 161 strikeouts. He was named the 7th-best prospect in the league by Baseball America and the second-best pitching prospect. Returning to Japan, he was 3-10 with a 4.80 ERA in 1995, and he tied Masaki Saito, Yasuyuki Yamauchi and Takuichi Koike for 5th in losses in the Central League. Noguchi went 5-5 with a 3.23 ERA in 1996, and he completed a no-hitter against Yomiuri Giants on August 11. On August 17, Noguchi struck out three batters in an inning, but Katsuhiko Yamada reached due to dropped third strike. Masataka Endo relieved him and fanned the next batter, and it was the only time in NPB history that two pitchers combined to strike out 4 in one inning. He slumped to 0-1 with a 6.57 ERA in 1997.

In 1998 Noguchi turned things back around, going 14-9 with a 2.34 ERA. He led the Central League in ERA, and finished third in wins (tied with two future Major Leaguer Kazuhisa Ishii and Kenshin Kawakami) and third in strikeouts (134, between Tomohito Ito and Masahiro Yamamoto). He was selected into the 1998 NPB All-Star Games, and he completed 2 shutout innings in Game 1. On August 30, Noguchi used 203 pitched to complete the game against the Yakult Swallows, and he was the last pitcher to have more than 200 pitches in a game in NPB history as of 2026.

The next year, Noguchi was 19-7, 2.65 campaign, and he won the Most Valuable Battery Award with Takeshi Nakamura. He was second to rookie Koji Uehara in both wins and ERA, and he ranked 4th in strikeouts (145, between Shinji Sasaoka and Takeo Kawamura). Noguchi also attended the 1999 NPB All-Star Game, and he fanned 3 in 2 shutout innings as the starter for the CL in Game 3. He gained 552 points in the CL MVP voting to beat Uehara's 538 points. In the 1999 Nippon Series, Noguchi started in Game 1 but he allowed 3 runs including a solo shot to Koji Akiyama and got the loss. He was Chunichi's starter in Game 5, but he surrendered 6 runs (0 earned) and the Dragons lost to the Daiei Hawks.

Noguchi slipped to 9-11, 4.63 in 2000, but he bounced back in 2001 when he won his second ERA title with a 12-9, 2.46 season. He led the league in strikeouts (128) and innings (173), and he tied Ishii, Satoru Komiyama and Hiroki Kuroda for 3rd in wins. On May 24 against the Hanshin Tigers, he struck out 16 batters and set the Central League record for most strikeouts in a game. He was voted into the 2001 NPB All-Star Game, and he was named the starter of Game 1. However, Noguchi allowed 5 runs in 3 innings including a 3-run shot to Alex Cabrera, and he got the loss. That year, he became the sixth player in NPB history to pitch four straight complete games without a walk. He also won his only NPB Gold Glove award.

The Ehime native was limited to five games in '02 due to a left elbow injury and struggled after that. He only started 5 games with a 5.00 ERA. He came back in 2003 with a 9-11 record with a 4.55 ERA, and he led the league with 59 walks and 9 hit-by-pitches. He was 4th in strikeouts (146, between Hideki Irabu and Kuroda), 10th in wins (tied with Ken Takahashi and Yamamoto) and 3rd in losses (tied with Masanori Ishikawa). Noguchi then went 4-8 with a 5.65 ERA in 2004, and he was 3-6 with a 4.00 ERA in 2005. He became a free agent after the season ended and signed a two-year deal with the Yomiuri Giants, who were desperate for pitching help. He only pitched three innings and one game for the 2006 Giants, allowing 7 hits and five runs. In 2007, he went 1-1 with a 4.30 ERA in 31 appearances. After not pitching in 2008, Noguchi signed a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays for 2009 but failed a physical, canceling the contract. Noguchi played for the independent Mie Three Arrows in 2011, and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Noguchi was 81-79 with a 3.69 ERA, struck out 1,122 and pitched 1,405 2/3 innings in 14 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan