Shintaro Yokota

Shintaro Yokota (横田 慎太郎)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 187 lbs.

• High School Kagoshima Jitsugyo High School

• Born June 9, 1995 in Hioki, Kagoshima Japan
• Died July 18, 2023 in Kobe, Hyogo Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shintaro Yokota was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in the second round of the 2013 NPB draft; the scout was Shuta Tanaka. His father Masashi Yokota also played in NPB. He hit .225/.276/.382 in 2014 in the NPB Farm Leagues, and he crushed 9 homers with a .213/.243/.352 batting line in 2015. Yokota was named Hanshin's starting center fielder on March 25, 2016, and he got his first hit against Daisuke Yamai in the next day. He ended up hitting .190/.220/.210 in 38 games for the top team, and he improved to .261/.308/.381 with 5 homers in the minors. However, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2017, and his professional career ended. He passed away in 2023 due to the tumor. In the 2023 Nippon Series Game 7, Hanshin's closer Suguru Iwazaki used Yokota's entrance song - "Bridge of Glory" of the Yuzu - to honor him, and the Tigers won their first title in 38 years. Yokota's uniform was held by Iwasaki while they were celebrating.

Sources

• Wiki Japan