is a Japanese former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player from

Kashihara, Nara is a city located in Nara Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 124,829, with 52,034 households. Population density is around 3,176.79 persons per km2, and the total area is 39.52 km2. The city was founded on Februa ...

, Japan. He was a starting pitcher for the

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current ...

from 1992 through 2016.

Playing career

Yokohama DeNa BayStars

Miura was drafted 6th in the 1991 Nippon Professional Baseball draft by the

Yokohama Taiyo Whales The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its curren ...

. He made his professional debut against the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

on October 7, 1992, retiring six straight batters in relief. In 2005, he led the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

in strikeouts (177) and ERA (2.52). Miura became a free agent after an injury-plagued 2008 season. Both the BayStars and the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

, the team that he had rooted for as a child, offered him contracts. Miura decided to return to the BayStars, who offered him a 4-year contract worth 1 billion

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...

(approximately US$10 million), as opposed to the Tigers, who were offering three years and 900 million yen. Miura's contract was renewed for the 2014 season at 180 million Yen (approximately US$1.75 million). Miura is known for his success against the Tigers in his career. Even in his worst seasons, Miura has had some of his best games against the Tigers, particularly at

Koshien Stadium , commonly referred to as simply Koshien Stadium, is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on August 1, 1924. It ...

. His nickname is "Hama no Banchō". This means "Boss of

oko OKO ( rus, ОКО, r=, literally means eye, also an abbreviation for Ob'yedinonnyye Kristallom Osnovaniya ( rus, Oбъединённые Кристаллом Oснования, r=, literally means Foundations Bound by a Crystal)) is a complex o ...

ama".

Olympic career

Miura pitched for Japan in the 2004 Summer Olympics, and helped the team win a bronze medal.

Coaching career

In 2019, the

hired Miura as pitching coach. In 2020, Miura was hired as the Manager of the

minor league team. In 2021, Miura became manager of the BayStars' main team, replacing

Alex Ramirez Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple ...

Pitching style

Miura throws a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

in the high 80s and also utilizes a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

forkball The forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-finger fastball, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard, snapping the wrist. The forkball differs from the split-fingered fastball, however, in th ...

shuuto The or shootball is a baseball pitch. It is commonly thrown by right-handed Japanese pitchers such as Hiroki Kuroda, Noboru Akiyama, Kenjiro Kawasaki, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Yu Darvish and Masumi Kuwata. The most renowned ''shuuto'' pitcher in hist ...

, curveball, and cutter. He is known for working both sides of the plate.

References

External links

NPB.com
1973 births Living people People from Kashihara, Nara Baseball people from Nara Prefecture Yokohama Taiyō Whales players Yokohama BayStars players Yokohama DeNA BayStars players Yokohama DeNA BayStars managers Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic baseball players of Japan Olympic bronze medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in baseball category:Managers of baseball teams in Japan Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics {{Japan-Olympic-medalist-stub