is a former
left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...
and
designated hitter
The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...
for 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. ...
.
He played in the
1996 Atlanta and
2000 Sydney Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
as well as the
2006 World Baseball Classic
The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puerto ...
, hitting
cleanup
Cleanup, clean up or clean-up may refer to:
* Cleanup (animation), a stage of animation workflow
* Clean-up (environment), environmental action to remove litter from a place
* Cleanup hitter, a baseball position
* Clean-up Records, a record label ...
in and .
Early life and amateur career
Matsunaka was born in
Yatsushiro, Kumamoto
is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.
Geography
Located at the geographic center of Kyushu, Yatsushiro City is situated on the aptly named Yatsushiro Sea in between Kumamoto and Ashikita City.
Climate
Yatsushiro has a humid subtro ...
, and attended the local Yatsushiro First High School (currently Shugakukan High School). He joined
Nippon Steel Corporation Kimitsu Works, a team in the Japanese industrial leagues, upon graduating
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
in .
In 1996, 22-year-old Matsunaka, then still a
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 ...
for Nippon Steel-Kimitsu, gathered national attention when he hit a game-tying
grand slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
in the
finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
of the
1996 Atlanta Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
against
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
as a member of the
Japanese national team. He was picked in the second round of the 1996
amateur draft by the
Fukuoka Daiei 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. ...
.
Professional career
Early years: 1997–1999
Matsunaka made his debut at the ''ichigun'' (Japanese equivalent of "major league") level in , his
rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
season, as the starting first baseman and
No. 7 hitter in a
regular season
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...
game against the
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, wh ...
on May 31. His first
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
came more than a year later against Lions
right-hander
In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...
Fumiya Nishiguchi
, (born September 26, 1972) is a Japanese baseball player. He is a right-handed pitcher in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball for the Saitama Seibu Lions
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo i ...
on September 5 .
Matsunaka became the Hawks' starting first baseman in with the departure of
Luis Lopez, hitting .268 with 23 home runs and 71
RBI and leading them to their first championship in 35 years as they won the league title as well as that year's
Japan Series
The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...
in five games over 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) ...
. His 23 homers were second to only
Hiroki Kokubo on the Hawks.
2000–2002
Matsunaka had a breakout year in , hitting .312 with 33 homers and 106 RBI and winning the
Pacific League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...
Most Valuable Player
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
award for the first time in his career. However, while the Hawks won the league title and reached the
Japan Series
The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...
for the second straight year, they blew a commanding 2-0 lead to 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 ...
and lost in six games. Matsunaka was a factor in this loss, going just 1-for-20 with one home run in the series.
Matsunaka put up his second consecutive .300-30-100 season the following season , hitting .334 with 36 home runs and 122 RBI. The Hawks had a particularly potent
lineup that year, with Matsunaka, Kokubo (44), catcher
Kenji Johjima
is a Japanese former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for four years with the Seattle Mariners in the American League, then returned to Japan and played for the Hanshin Tigers.
On November 21, 2005 ...
(31), and second baseman
Tadahito Iguchi
, nicknamed "Gucci", is a Japanese served professional baseball second baseman and from manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
As a member of the Chicago White Sox in 2005, Iguchi became the first Japanese-bor ...
(30) all hitting 30 or more home runs. It marked the first time four players on the same team had ever hit 30 or more homers in the Pacific League, and the four were dubbed the "30-Homer Quartet". However, while the Hawks broke a franchise record by hitting 203 home runs as a team, they finished second to the
Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stadi ...
in the pennant race, missing their third straight league title.
Matsunaka struggled to adjust to the new
strike zone
In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's kn ...
that the NPB had decided to implement in the season, hitting a career-low .260 with 28 home runs. He hit his 100th career home run on May 3 off
left-hander
In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...
Itsuki Shoda in a game against the
Nippon Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...
.
2003
In , Matsunaka bounced back from a disappointing previous year and hit .324 with 30 home runs and 123 RBI in the regular season, overtaking his teammate Johjima in RBI in the last game of the season to lead the league in that category for the first time. He led the Hawks to another pennant win and their first
Japan Series
The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...
championship in four years over 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 ...
. Despite the absence of Kokubo, their longtime
cleanup hitter
In baseball, a cleanup hitter is the fourth hitter in the batting order. The cleanup hitter is traditionally the team's most powerful hitter. His job is to "clean up the bases", i.e., drive in base runners.
Theory
The thinking behind the us ...
, the Hawks collectively hit .297 (the highest team
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
in NPB history), with four hitters putting up 100 or more RBI (the "100-RBI Quartet").
2004
The season was the finest of Matsunaka's eight-year
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
career. He hit .358 with 44 home runs and 120 RBI, becoming the first player in Japanese professional baseball since
Hiromitsu Ochiai
Hiromitsu Ochiai (落合 博満 ''Ochiai Hiromitsu'', born December 9, 1953) is a Japanese professional baseball manager and former player. He is former manager of the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He is considered to b ...
(then of the
Lotte Orions
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd.
History
The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural ...
) in to lead the league in batting average, home runs and RBI in the same season (he was tied with
Fernando Seguignol
Fernando Alfredo Seguignol Garcia (born January 19, 1975) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder. Seguignol also played eight years in Nippon Professional Baseball. A switch hitter, Seguignol is regarded as the best swi ...
in home runs) and thus win Triple Crown honors. Making the feat even more impressive was that Matsunaka also led the league in
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
,
on-base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
,
runs scored
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...
and
total bases
In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, while ...
, becoming just the second player in NPB history to lead the league in the aforementioned seven categories.
Following the season, Matsunaka was rewarded with the second MVP award of his career as well as the
Best Nine
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporatio ...
and Golden Glove awards. However, while he led his team to the
playoffs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
, the Hawks fell in five games to the Lions due in large part to an abysmal showing by Matsunaka, who went just 2-for-16 in five games in the series.
2005
In , the following year, Matsunaka became the Hawks' everyday
designated hitter
The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...
due to recurring problems with his
knee
In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...
s. He hit his 200th career home run against
Chiba Lotte Marines
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd.
History
The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural ...
submariner Shunsuke Watanabe
is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher.
His submarine pitching form was noted during the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
Amateur career
Watanabe began baseball at age 6, and began throwing underhanded during middle school at the sugge ...
on April 17 and finished the year with a .315 batting average, 46 home runs and 121 RBI, leading the league in home runs and RBI for the second straight season and becoming the first hitter in NPB history to record more than 120 RBI in three straight seasons. However, the Hawks suffered yet another early playoff exit, this time falling in five games to the Marines. Again, Matsunaka faced most of the blame for the loss, hitting just 1-for-19 in the series.
He signed a seven-year contract with the Hawks in the 2005
off-season
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...
, virtually ensuring that he would finish his career with the team.
2006
Coming off a triumphant victory in the inaugural
World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...
, Matsunaka hit .324 during the 2006 regular season and won his second
batting title
In baseball, batting average (AVG) is a measure of a batter's success rate in achieving a hit during an at bat. In Major League Baseball (MLB), it is calculated by dividing a player's hits by his at bats (AB). In MLB, a player in each league wins ...
that year, but his power fell substantially as he managed to hit only 19 home runs with 76 RBI. It was during this season that he began to see significant playing time in the
outfield
The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area.
In cricket, baseball and ...
, frequently seeing starts at
left field
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...
from interleague play onwards. The Hawks finished third in the regular season, defeating the Lions in the first round of the playoffs but ultimately being swept by the
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a s ...
in the second round (though Matsunaka went 7-for-18 with 7 RBI in the postseason). Despite his less impressive numbers, Matsunaka received his fourth consecutive (and fifth overall)
Best Nine Award
The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists.
History
While the Best Nine Award was first presen ...
as an
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 cat ...
, making him only the third player after Akinobu Mayumi and Ochiai to receive the award at three different positions (he had won three as a first baseman and one as a designated hitter).
2007
The season proved to be a disappointing one for Matsunaka. Despite the high expectations placed upon the new trio of Matsunaka, Kokubo (who had returned to the Hawks after a stint with the Giants via
free agency
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
) and newly acquired
Hitoshi Tamura
Hitoshi Tamura (多村 仁志, born March 28, 1977) is a retired Japanese professional baseball player who last played with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
Following his release from the Yokohama DeNA Baystars in 20 ...
that would comprise the middle of the order, all three missed significant playing time due to
injuries
An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or ...
. Matsunaka put up his worst numbers since 2002, hitting just .266 with 15 home runs and 68 RBI.
2008
Coming off of a rigorous off-season lower body
training regimen, Matsunaka rebounded in , hitting his 300th career home run against young Lions
ace
An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...
Hideaki Wakui
is a Japanese Professional baseball pitcher for the Chunichi Dragons of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Saitama Seibu Lions, Seibu Lions / Saitama Seibu Lions, Chiba Lotte Marines and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Ea ...
on August 29 and playing all 144 games while batting .290 with 25 home runs and driving in 92 runs. However, his personal accomplishments were offset by the Hawks' collapse in the second half of the season, a free-fall which culminated in a loss to 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 the last game of the regular season that brought their first last-place finish since the 1996 season.
2009
Matsunaka was officially listed as an outfielder from the season onwards. He recorded his 1000th career RBI in the season opener against the
Orix Buffaloes
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...
on April 3 and became only the 11th player in NPB history to record 100 career
hit-batters on April 21 against the Fighters, hitting a pair of two-run homers in the same game. He got the 1500th hit of his career on May 6 against the Buffaloes, becoming the 100th player in NPB history to accomplish the feat.
International career
Matsunaka is a two-time Olympian, representing Japan in both the
1996 Atlanta and
2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He played an instrumental role in Japan's
silver medal
A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
finish in 1996, hitting five home runs and 16 RBI in the tournament (his game-tying grand slam in the
finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
against
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
was arguably his most noteworthy moment, even though Japan eventually lost the match 9-13).
Matsunaka became one of the first baseball players to ever participate in the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
as a pro when he was chosen to the national team for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but Japan was defeated by
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
in the
bronze medal match
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
and came up empty in their run for a medal.
In 2006, Matsunaka was chosen to the national team for the third time, playing in the inaugural
World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...
as Japan's starting
left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...
and cleanup hitter. He hit .433 in eight games, albeit with no home runs, and was instrumental in leading Japan to the inaugural title.
Playing style
Hitting
Matsunaka is a burly 183 cm (6 ft),
power hitter
Power hitter is a term used in baseball for a skilled player that has a higher than average ability in terms of his batting, featuring a combination of dexterity and personal strength that likely leads to a high number of home-runs as well as do ...
who currently hits in either the 3-hole or the cleanup spot in the Hawks' lineup. It is often said that
balls Matsunaka pulls are less likely to
go foul because of his ability to stay inside the
pitch, a testament to how adept he is in turning on
inside
Inside may refer to:
* Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access
Film
* ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz
* ''Inside'' (2002 f ...
pitches. He also
strikes out very infrequently compared to other so-called power hitters. He struck out just 85 times when he hit 46 home runs (his career high) in 2005, 67 times when he hit 44 homers in 2004 and 77 times when he hit 36 homers in 2001, never
whiffing more than 91 times in a single season.
Fielding
Matsunaka has never been regarded as a particularly good
fielder. Though he won the Pacific League Golden Glove award at first base in 2004, many thought that he was chosen over other candidates with better defensive reputations, such as Marines first baseman and three-time Golden Glove winner Kazuya Fukuura, largely on merit of his offensive production (Matsunaka led the league in all three Triple Crown categories that year).
Matsunaka began to see substantial time in
left field
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...
in interleague play during the 2006 season. While he displayed limited range in the outfield, his throws were usually fairly accurate despite his weak throwing arm. He has since seen an increasing number of starts as the team's designated hitter due to a history of
shoulder
The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder mak ...
- and
elbow
The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...
-related injuries.
"Japan Pro Baseball Special / Pacific League Outlook"
''The Yomiuri Shimbun''
Career statistics
''Bold indicates league leader; statistics current as of Jan 2015''
References
External links
*
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – Nobuhiko Matsunaka Official Website
(Japanese)
Matsunaka Nobuhiko Sports Museum
(Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsunaka, Nobuhiko
1973 births
Living people
Asian Games gold medalists for Japan
Asian Games medalists in baseball
Baseball players at the 1994 Asian Games
Baseball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Fukuoka Daiei Hawks players
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players
Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Nippon Professional Baseball designated hitters
Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners
Olympic baseball players of Japan
Olympic medalists in baseball
Olympic silver medalists for Japan
People from Yatsushiro, Kumamoto
Baseball people from Kumamoto Prefecture
2006 World Baseball Classic players