Yoshiyuki Shimizu

Yoshiyuki Shimizu (清水 義之)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 167 lb.

• High School Takushoku University Daiichi High School

• Born September 19, 1963 in Chofu, Tokyo Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yoshiyuki Shimizu played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 9 years.

Shimizu was drafted by the Taiyo Whales in the 4th round of the 1987 NPB draft, and he went 1-for-5 in his first season. He was 13-for-56 in 1989, and he replaced Toshio Choshi to become Taiyo's new starting third baseman in 1990. Shimizu hit .232/.267/.321 in 122 games that season, and he tied Yutaka Wada, Takahiro Ikeyama, Hisashi Ono and Masao Yanada for 9th in triples in the Central League (4). He was involved in a rare situation on June 5 against the Hiroshima Carp in the 9th inning. When the bases were loaded, he hit a flyball and the umpire Hiroshi Tani called an infield fly. However, catcher Mitsuo Tatsukawa forgot the rule, so he let the ball drop, touched the plate and threw to first. The third base runner, Kenichi Yamazaki, also forgot the rule, so he ran back to home and scored because Tatsukawa didn't tagged him out. It was the only "walk-off infield fly" in NPB history.

The Tokyo native ended up hitting .266/.342/.362 with 10 steals in 1991, and he tied Katsumi Hirosawa for 7th in doubles. He recorded a .223/.313/.306 batting line in 96 games in 1992, and the Whales traded him to the Seibu Lions for Ryoji Moriyama and Hideo Nakamura. Shimizu went 12-for-59 in 1993, and he only got 28 more at-bats before the Lions traded him to the Hanshin Tigers for cash. He was 0-for-12 in 1995, and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Shimizu hit .246/.324/.336 with 308 hits and 15 homers in 9 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan