Shunsuke Watanabe

Shunsuke Watanabe (渡辺 俊介)
(Shun-chan, Pokki, Hone, Sub-Marine)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 154 lb.

• School Kokugakuin University
• High School Kokugakuin Tochigi High School

• Born August 27, 1976 in Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Shunsuke Watanabe pitched in the minor leagues and [[Nippon Pro Baseball].

Watanabe is known as "Sub-Marine" among English-language fans of NPB due to his submarine delivery and his playing for the Chiba Lotte Marines. Watanabe first appeared on a prominent stage in the 2000 Olympics, where he beat Italy but then lost to Cuba. Drafted in the 4th round in the 2000 NPB draft by Chiba Lotte, Watanabe was 2-2, 2.66 in 13 games for the Marines in 2001. In 2002, Shunsuke was 0-3 and his ERA rose to 6.35. He apparently spent most of the year in ni-gun (the NPB Farm Leagues). The next year, at age 26, he improved to 9-4, 3.66 but struggled when he aimed for more heat. Advised by Kimiyasu Kudoh and Tomohiro Kuroki to develop an alternate approach, Watanabe relied mostly on sinkers, slow curve balls and sliders.

The Tochigi native was 12-6 in 2004 with a 3.59 ERA. He was fifth in the Pacific League in ERA (between Naoyuki Shimizu and Chih-Chia Chang), third in wins behind Hisashi Iwakuma and Satoru Kanemura and made his first All-Star team. He relieved Daisuke Matsuzaka in the 5th inning of 2004 NPB All-Star Game 1, and he completed two shutout innings with two strikeouts against Makoto Imaoka and Kazuyoshi Tatsunami. Shun-chan improved in 2005 to 15-4 with a 2.17 ERA as he again was an All-Star. He was the first pitcher to beat newly-founded Rakuten Golden Eagles. His ERA was second to Toshiya Sugiuchi, he was fourth in the PL in wins (between Kazumi Saito and Matzuzaka) and lead the league in shutouts (3, tied with Yasutomo Kubo and Matsuzaka), including a one-hitter on March 27. He pitched a 4-hit shutout in his only start in the 2005 Japan Series.

In an exhibition against a Major League Baseball All-Star team, Watanabe allowed three runs in five innings on six hits. Picked to play in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Shunsuke was 0-0 with a 1.98 ERA in two starts for the champion Japanese club. 2006 was not a good year for the Sub-Marine as he fell drastically to 5-11, 4.35, dropping 7 of his last 8 decisions. He tied Yoshihisa Hirano for third in the league in losses and led in batters hit (14). In 2007, he bounced back to 9-6, 2.44; right-handed batters only hit .200 against him. He walked just 34 in 177 innings. He finished 4th in the PL in ERA behind Yoshihisa Naruse, Yu Darvish and Ryan Glynn, was 6th in innings (between Tsuyoshi Wada and Naruse), 3rd in complete games (8, between Hideaki Wakui and Naruse) and tied for 4th in shutout (2).

Watanabe slumped back in 2008 to 13-8, 4.17. He allowed a .291 average and walked only 29 in 172 2/3 IP. He tied Shimizu for 4th in the league in wins, tied Masahiro Tanaka for 6th in innings and led in most earned runs allowed (80), hit batsmen (13) and hits allowed (195). He tossed two scoreless innings for Japan in the 2009 World Baseball Classic to help his team win their second straight Classic. Watanabe went 3-13 with a 4.05 ERA in 2009, and he led the league in losses and hit-by-pitches. He was 8-8 with a 4.49 ERA in 2010, and he completed the 2010 Nippon Series Game 3 against the Chunichi Dragons with only a run allowed. Watanabe surrendered 4 runs in 2 innings as the starter of Game 7, and the Marines beat the Dragons.

The submariner went 7-9 with a 3.68 ERA in 2011, then he was 4-4 with a 4.39 ERA in 2012. Watanabe only pitched 6 games with a 4.62 ERA in 2013, and the Marines released him. On December 17, 2013, the now 37-year-old Watanabe signed a free agent minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox, joining a team that had had great success with fellow Japanese relievers in recent years, particularly Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara. He struggled in spring training, and he left the team before the season started. Watanabe signed with the independent Lancaster Barnstormers and was 8-2 with a 3.37 ERA in 2014. He was 8th in the Atlantic League in ERA, between Steve Hammond and Matt Maloney. He went 7-5 with a 2.94 ERA in 2015 (he would've been 5th in ERA had he qualified), and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Watanabe was 87-82 with a 3.65 ERA, struck out 846 and pitched 1,578 1/3 innings in 13 seasons in NPB. As of 2024, he was 24th in hit-by-pitches in NPB history, between Takenori Emoto and Hirohisa Matsunuma.

Sources

• Japanbaseballdaily by Gary Garland
• Wiki Japan
• 2015-2016 Baseball Almanacs