Yusuke Nomura

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Yusuke Nomura (野村 祐輔)

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Biographical Information[edit]

Yusuke Nomura pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball. for 13 years.

Nomura was a college pitcher when he helped Japan win the Gold Medal at the 2009 Asian Championship. He led the final round with 10 strikeouts. He struck out over 300 batters during his college career. In the 2010 World University Championship, he tossed five shutout innings for Japan, fanning 11 and allowing one hit and no walks. He was one of the most dominant pitchers in Tohto University Baseball League history, as he went 30-12 with a 1.92 ERA and 358 strikeouts with 2 ERA titles. He was the first pitcher to have a 0.00 ERA in a season since Akira Ejiri in 1964, and he was the 7th pitcher to collect 30 wins and 300 strikeouts. In the 2011 Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention, Nomura completed three straight shutouts, including a no-walk shutout against Aichi Gakuin University, and Meiji won their 5th title.

The Okayama native was the first-round pick of the Hiroshima Carp in the 2011 NPB draft; the scout was Yoshinori Ogata. He made his Nippon Pro Baseball debut on April 1, 2012. He turned in a fine start against the Chunichi Dragons, allowing one run in six innings but was losing a 1-0 duel to veteran Masahiro Yamamoto (who was pitching professionally before Nomura was even born). Nomura was yanked in the 7th for pinch-hitter Tomonori Maeda. He was selected into the 2012 NPB All-Star Game, and he pitched 3 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts (against Ryo Hijirisawa and Tomoya Satozaki) in Game 2. He ended up 9-11 with a 1.98 ERA, and he was 5th in losses (tied with Randy Messenger, Masanori Ishikawa and Orlando Román) and 2nd in ERA (.45 behind Kenta Maeda). He was the first rookie to hold his season ERA under 2 since Tsuneo Horiuchi in 1966, and he easily won the Central League Rookie of the Year. He won 200 of 261 votes, 160 ahead of runner-up Shinji Tajima.

Nomura suffered from right shoulder injury in 2013, and he still went 12-6 with a 3.74 ERA. He was 5th in wins, tied with Messenger. Nomura then slumped to 7-8 with a 4.39 ERA in 2014, and he went 5-8 with a 4.64 ERA in 2015. He bounced back in 2016, and he was voted into the 2016 NPB All-Star Game. Nomura replaced Shintaro Fujinami in the 5th inning of Game 1, and he only allowed one solo shot to Yuya Hasegawa in 2 innings. He ended up 16-3 with a 2.71 ERA, and he led the league in wins and winning percentage. Nomura won his only Best Nine award, and he was 3rd in ERA (between Kris Johnson and Kazuto Taguchi). Nomura pitched 6 innings with only one unearned run allowed in the 2016 Nippon Series Game 2 to get the win over Hirotoshi Masui, and he was named the starter in Game 6. However, he allowed 4 runs in 4 innings, and the Carp lost to the Nippon Ham Fighters. He got 264 points in the MVP voting, and he was 4th between Seiya Suzuki and [[ Yoshitomo Tsutsugo]].

After the gorgeous '16 season, Nomura made it onto Japan's designated pitcher pool for the 2017 World Baseball Classic; he was not activated, though. He was 9-5 with a 2.78 ERA in 2017, and he ranked 4th in ERA (between Messenger and Shota Imanaga). He then had a 7-6 record with a 4.22 ERA in 2018, and he was named the starter of the 2018 Nippon Series Game 4. Nomura allowed 3 runs in 4 1/3 innings, and Nao Higashihama got the win over him; the Carp lost to the Softbank Hawks in 6 games. He was 6-5 with a 4.06 ERA in 2019, and he had a 6-3 record with a 4.58 ERA in 2020. Nomura broke [[Nathan Minchey]'s NPB record for most games pitched as a starter since NPB debut with 188, but his ERA was 6.31 in 8 games. He was 2-3 with a 5.53 ERA in 2022, and he started 6 games with a 1.16 ERA in 2023. Nomura only pitched 3 games in 2024, and he announced his retirement. He then became a minor league pitching coach for the Carp.

Overall, Nomura was 80-64 with a 3.53 ERA, struck out 758 and pitched 1,226 1/3 innings in 13 season in NPB.

Sources[edit]

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