is currently a

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) coach for 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 Railway ...

. Before coaching, he played in NPB from 1996 to 2006, primarily as a second or third-string

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

. Nomura was drafted in 1995 by the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

, the team managed by his father, catching-great and long-time manager

Katsuya Nomura was a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) catcher and manager. During his over 26-season playing career mostly spent with the Nankai Hawks (now the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks), he became one of NPB's greatest offensive catchers. He was award ...

. Over the course of his playing career, his father managed him for five seasons with three different teams—two with the Swallows, two with the

and one with the Golden Eagles.

Career

Katsunori Nomura attended

Horikoshi High School is a private high school in Nakano, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Nakano City.Meiji University , abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meiji-er ...

before being drafted by the

in the third round of the 1995

draft. He played two seasons with the Swallows under his father, manager and former catching-great

. After the 1998 season, his father left the Swallows and Nomura was sent to the club's farm team for the entirety of the 1999 season. He was then traded to the

, where he was reunited with his father who, again, managed him for two more seasons. After his father left the club after the 2001 season, Nomura was eventually sent down to the Tigers' farm team for the entirety of the 2003 season, his last with the club. Nomura's contract was purchased by 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 ...

before the start of the 2004 season. While it was a relatively minor trade, it made headlines because of his father's longtime resentment toward the Giants. Some also saw the trade as an opportunity for him "to step out of his famous father's shadow." However, Nomura only played in three games with the Giants and was released following the end of the 2004 season. He played his final two seasons with the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

in 2005 and 2006, the latter of which was managed once again by his father. He announced his retirement on September 30, 2006. Throughout his playing career, Nomura was utilized as a second or third-string catcher. After playing, Nomura transitioned to coaching in the league. He has coached for three different teams since 2007 and is currently with Rakuten. Some have suggested that the only reason Katsunori Nomura was given the opportunity to play in NPB was because of his father's connections in the league. ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'' columnist Marty Kuehnert believes that he "hitched a ride" on his father's name, but his "statistics don't add up to a good month, or even week, of atsuya Nomura'sproduction". Of the four NPB teams Nomura played for in his playing career, three of them were managed by his father: the Swallows, the Tigers and the Golden Eagles.

Personal life

Katsunori Nomura is the son of NPB catching great and long-time manager

. His half brother is prominent baseball agent

Don Nomura is a sports agent who primarily represents Japanese baseball players. Early life Nomura was born Donald Engel at St. Luke's International Hospital in Chūō, Tokyo, to a Japanese mother, Yoshie Itō and a Jewish American father, Alvin George En ...

. After a 2001

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...

scandal involving Katsunori's mother Sachiyo, Nomura was supportive during the months preceding her arrest. Kenneth Engel and Don Nomura, Sachiyo's children from a previous marriage, publicly disowned her. He has two children with his wife Yukiko.

References

External links

*Career statistics and player information fro
Baseball-Reference
o

(in Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Nomura, Katsunori 1973 births Living people People from Toyonaka, Osaka Meiji University alumni Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball catchers Yakult Swallows players Hanshin Tigers players Yomiuri Giants players Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players Japanese baseball coaches Nippon Professional Baseball coaches