Shota Morishita

Shota Morishita (森下 翔太)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 198 lbs.

• School Chuo University
• High School Tokai University Sagami High School

• Born August 14, 2000 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shota Morishita has played in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Morishita was on the Japanese college national team that played the USA in 2020. He was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in the first round of the 2022 NPB draft; he was their first pick in the redraft phase after they lost the lottery for Shogo Asano to the Yomiuri Giants. He became the first Hanshin rookie to blast 10 homers since his manager Akinobu Okada did it in 1980, and ended up hitting .237/.316/.375 with 10 homers in 2023. He was 2-for-3 with a clutch game-tying solo shot off Aren Kuri of the Hiroshima Carp in Game 1 of the final stage of the 2023 CLCS, then then went 0-for-4 in Game 2. Morishita bounced back the next game, drew a RBI walk against Takuya Yasaki and help the Tigers swept the Carp. In the 2023 Nippon Series, Morishita was 1-for-9 in the first two games, then went 2-for-4 with a two-run single against Taisuke Yamaoka of the Orix Buffaloes in Game 3. He extended his solid batting, hit a RBI double against Sachiya Yamasaki in Game 4 then went 1-for-4 with a clutch RBI triple against Yuki Udagawa in Game 5. He was 0-for-4 in Game 6 then shined in Game 7 as he had hit a RBI double against Hiroya Miyagi then hit another RBI single against Kohei Azuma. Hanshin beat Orix in that game, and they won their first Japan Series in 38 years. He led the Series in RBI, two ahead of Sheldon Neuse. Morishita won 10 votes in 2023 CL Rookie of the Year voting, finishing second behind Shoki Murakami's 285 votes.

The Yokohama native then made it onto Japan's roster for the 2023 Asia Professional Baseball Championship. He blasted a game-winning solo shot off Ruei-Yang Gu Lin of Taiwan in their opener, then went 2-for-3 with a walk against South Korea. He was 1-for-4 in the Gold Medal Game against Korea again, and helped Japan win Gold. He was also named as one of the outfielders on the All-Tournament Team. Morishita extended his solid performance in 2024, and he crushed 16 homers with a .275/.363/.441 batting line. He was 10th in doubles (tied with Toshiro Miyazaki), 8th in homers (tied with Teruaki Sato) and 4th in RBI (between Shugo Maki and José Osuna). He was 5-for-8 in the 2024 CLCS first stage, but the Tigers were swept by the Yokohama BayStars.

Morishita then represented Japan in the 2024 Premier 12. As Japan's cleanup hitter, Morishita went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI in their opener against Australia, and he was 2-for-3 with a homer against Hai-young Jung of South Korea. He was 0-for-4 combined in the next two games, and he collected 3 hits in 3 at-bats against the Dominican Republic. In the first game of the super round, Morishita went 0-for-4 against the USA, then he was 1-for-4 with 2 runs scored against Venezuela. He was 1-for-2 against Taiwan, and Japan advanced to the final game. However, Morishita was hitless in 4 at-bats in the Gold Medal game, and Japan lost to Taiwan and won Silver. He led the event with 13 runs (4 ahead of Termarr Johnson), tied for 6th with 10 hits, tied for 4th with 3 doubles and was 4th with 9 RBI. He joined Chieh-Hsien Chen and Chandler Simpson as the All-Star flyhawks.

The young phenomenon had another solid year in 2025. He was selected into the 2025 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 1-for-4, with a double against Hiroya Miyagi, in Game 1. Morishita was the CL's starting right fielder in Game 2, and he was 2-for-5, with a 2-run double against Kaima Taira and another double versus Kota Tatsu. He ended up hitting .275/.350/.463 with 23 homers in 2025, and he was 10th in batting (between Sandro Fabián and Keita Sano), 5th in hits (151, between Yuta Izuguchi and Takumu Nakano), 2nd in homers (17 behind Sato), 9th in doubles (24, tied with Maki, Sano and Kaito Kozono), 2nd in triples (5, tied with Yukihiro Iwata), 2nd in RBI (89, 13 behind Sato) and 5th in walks (54, between Sato and Seishiro Sakamoto). He hit .200/.273/.300 with 2 doubles in the 2025 Nippon Series, and the Tigers lost to the Softbank Hawks in 5 games as Hanshin's offense fell flat. He won 113 points in the MVP voting, and he was 4th between Murakami and Hiroto Saiki. Morishita also won his first NPB Gold Glove and Best Nine awards.