Shinji Sasamoto

Shinji Sasamoto (笹本 信二)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 154 lb.

• School Doshisha University
• High School Naruto High School

• Born April 18, 1952 in Itano-gun, Tokushima Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shinji Sasamoto played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years.

Sasamoto hit .249 with 8 homers in his college career, and he won four Best Nine awards as a catcher. He was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in the 3rd round of the 1974 NPB draft, but he didn't get many chances as the Tigers already had star catcher Koichi Tabuchi. Sasamoto only got 39 at-bats combined in his first two seasons, and he was traded to the Hankyu Braves for Kazuyoshi Takemura and Yoshio Arai. He went 3-for-32 in 1977, and he set the NPB record as he caught five runners stealing in a game on April 24. Sasamoto had a 1-for-19 record in 1978, and he played 68 games with a .327/.369/.496 batting line in 1979 as the backup behind Shinji Nakazawa. He recorded a .264/.353/.488 batting line in 1980, then he hit .276/.343/.370 in 1981. The Braves then traded him to the Yomiuri Giants for Kazuaki Fujishiro, and he went 4-for-20 in 1982. Sasamoto was 12-for-48 in 1983, and he collected a single against Osamu Higashio in his only at-bat in the 1983 Nippon Series; the Giants lost to the Seibu Lions in 7 games. Sasamoto hit .179/.203/.375 in 1984, and he announced his retirement after having a 3-for-18 record in 1985.

Overall, Sasamoto hit .242/.312/.393 with 145 hits and 16 homers in 11 seasons in NPB. He had good speed for a backstop, going 20-for-27 in steals.

Sources

• Wiki Japan