is a professional Japanese

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

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). He previously played in NPB 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 Railwa ...

and the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

Early baseball career

A native of Fukuoka, he began playing as a catcher for the Mikuni Honeys in grade school, then went on to join the Futsukaichi Lions in junior high where he got to participate in national tournaments. Upon entering high school, he secured the outfielder post for the Fukuoka Koudai Joto High School. He was elected as team captain in his second year, but his team never made it past the elimination rounds to summer Koshien. He attended the same high school as fellow Tiger's teammate

Ryutaro Umeno is a Nippon Professional Baseball catcher for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Central League. Since joining the Tigers, he was given the nickname "Ume-chan", and his accurate throws and strong throwing arm earned his throw the nickname "Ume-chan ba ...

who was a year ahead, and like Umeno, he started as an outfielder and graduated as a catcher.

Professional career

Hanshin Tigers

Nakatani was selected as the

' 3rd round pick in the 2010 Nippon Professional Baseball draft. He signed as a catcher on a contract of 50 million yen and an annual salary of 6 million. He was given the jersey number 60. 2011 In 2011, Nakatani played in 23 Western League games (minors) and batted .261 with 4 RBIs. Because he played mostly as an outfielder and not as a catcher, they changed his training regimen from a catcher to an outfielder at the end of the season. 2012 Nakatani spent most of the 2012 season playing in the minors. He was selected to play in the mid-season Fresh All Star Game on July 18, and was selected as the game's MVP when he scored 2 hits and 3 RBIs. On August 23, he debuted in his 1st official game as the starting right fielder in the match against the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

at the Kurashiki Muscat Stadium. He appeared in 5 more games, but he failed to record a hit in any of them. He finished the season in the minors, with a .225 batting average, 3 home runs and 27 RBIs. 2013 In 2013, the Tigers officially changed Nakatani's position from

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

. He spent the entire season in the farm, and batted .201 in 100 games, with 31 RBIs and 2 home runs. 2014 Nakatani also didn't appear in any main squad matches in this year, and batted his worst at .190 in 93 minor league games. His home run count improved to 7. 2015 Tigers nakatanimasahiro 20150322

Nakatani's improved performance in the minors early in the season finally earned him a spot in the main squad in a match against the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda ...

on May 8. He recorded his first official hit as a pro on May 9, but when he went hitless in the next matches, he got sent back to the farm on May 15. He continued to perform well in Western League games, and even got selected as the League MVP of the Month in July. In all his 94-game appearances, he recorded an average of .290 with 9 home runs and 40 RBIs, and was named the Western League's MVP of the season. 2016 Nakatani spent the earlier half of the 2016 season in the farm, where new batting coach and Tigers legend

Masayuki Kakefu (born May 9, 1955) is a Japanese former professional baseball third baseman in Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, ...

helped him undergo training to improve his batting form. His efforts paid off when he got called to play with the main squad in June. He recorded his first career RBI on June 19, and his first career home run a few days after. His appearances gradually increased until October, mostly as a center fielder or as a pinch hitter, and he finished the season with 14 RBIs, 4 home runs and a batting average of .266 in 64 games. 2017 Nakatani had a shaky start early in the 2017 season as he competed with young guns Shun Takayama and

Fumihito Haraguchi is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays catcher for the Hanshin Tigers. Early Baseball Career A native of Saitama Prefecture, Fumihito began playing baseball in fourth grade, and went on to play for the Yorii Little Seniors (curren ...

for regular playing time in the outfield or at first base. His breakout performance started in May when he went on a hitting spree and reached 5 home runs by the 3rd week. He was rewarded by being assigned the clean up spot for the first time in a May 28 match against 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 ...

, and continued to be a regular starting player in the next couple of months. He went 5-for-5 against the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway ...

on June 15, and recorded two hits and two RBIs including a two-run home run against Yomiuri on July 9. This earned him the Sanspo Excellent Player Award for his performance during the Sanspo's Hanshin Tigers Gekirei Series (June 13 to July 12). By July 23, he was leading the team in home runs batted in (10 HRs). He continued to hit well, and even hit home runs in 3 consecutive matches against the

Tokyo 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 ...

on August 22. In a September 18 match against the

at Koshien Stadium, he recorded his 20th home run of the season in the fourth inning against Yusuke Nomura. He became the first Hanshin right-handed hitting lifer (a player who has played with only one team) to reach 20 home runs since Osamu Hamanaka hit 20 in 2006 (Hamanaka was a lifer at the time he recorded twenty home runs). In 133 main squad game appearances, he led the team in RBIs and home runs (61 RBIs, 20 home runs), with 99 hits and an OPS of 0.697. His performance earned him a 12 million pay raise, making an estimated annual salary of 36 million yen for 2018. 2018 Nakatani fell into a slump during spring camp in 2018 and batting only .143 during the exhibition games. Nakatanie failed to make it into the main squad when the season started. His slump continued in the farm, (39 games, .197 average, 3 home runs), but when the main squad needed batting reinforcement, he got called to play on May 22. In the 9th inning of a May 26 game 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 ...

, with 2 outs and a runner on 2nd, Nakatani notched his 1st career walk off hit at Koshien. From June onwards however, his performance began to deteriorate, and with the improving performance of other outfielders, his starts gradually decreased. He only appeared in a total of 77 games, hit 26 RBIs with only 5 home runs. 2019 Nakatani played in 62 games for Hanshin in 2019, also playing in 43 games for the farm team. In 131 plate appearances, Nakatani posted a tepid .181/.264/.379 slash with 6 home runs and 19 RBI. 2020 In 2020, the season was delayed because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Nakatani spent the majority of the year with Hanshin's main team, logging a .215/.267/.304 batting line with 2 home runs and 16 RBI in 70 games. 2021 Nakatani began the 2021 season with Hanshin's farm team after poor performance in the seasons prior. With the farm team, Nakatani posted a .266 average with 5 home runs and 26 RBI.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

On July 2, 2021, Nakatani was traded to the

in exchange for Akira Niho. In 2021 season, he never had a chance to play in the First League. 2022 On May 6, 2022, Nakatani made his first appearance as a Hawks player and recorded his first hit after moving to the 21. On May 6, 2022, He hit a dramatic two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning with one out and a runner on first. In 2022 season, he batted .214 with one home run in 16 games. October 17, 2022, the Hawks announced he was a free agent.

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp

- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakatani, Masahiro 1993 births Living people People from Ogōri, Fukuoka Baseball people from Fukuoka Prefecture Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Hanshin Tigers players Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players