is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

professional

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 tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

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. ...

Professional career

In ,

selected Kayama in the fifth round.

2012–2015 season

On Nay 4, 2012, Kayama debuted in 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 ...

against 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 ...

as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. In 2012 season, he pitched in four games in the Pacific League. In the match against the

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 ...

on July 15, 2013, he pitched as a relief pitcher and became his first Winning pitcher. He also recorded his first

Hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Fermat ...

on August 2. In 2013 season, kayama recorded with a 40 Games pitched, a 3–1

Win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

, a 2.32

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

, a 4

Holds A hold (abbreviated HLD, H or HD) is awarded to a relief pitcher who meets the following three conditions: :1. Enters the game in a save (baseball), save situation; that is, when all of the following three conditions apply: :: (a) He appears i ...

, a 50 strikeouts in 54.1 innings. In 2014 season, kayama recorded with a 32 Games pitched, a 0–2 Win–loss record, a 3.19 ERA, a one Hold, a 40 strikeouts in 36.2 innings. In the

2014 Japan Series The 2014 Japan Series (known as the '' SMBC Nippon Series 2014'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 65th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) championship series known colloquially as the Japan Series. The best-of-seven playoff was won by ...

against 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 ...

, he was selected as the Japan Series roster. In 2015 season, Kayama recorded with a 16 Games pitched, a 0–0 Win–loss record, a 4.20 ERA, a one Hold, a 14 strikeouts in 15 innings. In the

2015 Japan Series The 2015 Japan Series was the 66th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, champions of the Pacific League, played the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, champions of the Central League. The Hawks ...

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 Yom ...

, he was selected as the Japan Series roster.

2016–2020 season

In 2016 season, Kayama pitched only five games in the Pacific League. He changed the three-quarter overhand pitching foam to sidearm in the fall training and learned the slow curveball. In 2017 season, Kayama pitched in relief as a situational lefty, and recorded with a 58 Games pitched, a 2–0 Win–loss record, a 2.76 ERA, a 14 Holds, a 47 strikeouts in 32.2 innings. In the

2017 Japan Series The 2017 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2017'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason. The 68th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the F ...

against the

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, 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 c ...

, kayama pitched in relief as a situational lefty and gave him walks in Game 3, but contributed to the team's Japan Series Champion by recording no hits and no runs in Game 1, Game 2, and Game 6. In 2018 season, Kayama pitched in the best 67 games of his career, and recorded a 2–1 Win–loss record, a 2.45 ERA, a 25 Holds, a 28 strikeouts in 33 innings. In the

2018 Japan Series The 2018 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2018'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2018 season. The 69th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff betwee ...

against the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in 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 founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

, he pitched in every game from Game 2 to Game 6, and contributed to the team's second consecutive Japan Series champion with good pitches without any runs. In the match against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the

Interleague play Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Pr ...

on June 18, 2019, he recorded a save for the first time. In 2019 season, Kayama recorded with a 54 Games pitched, a 2–2 Win–loss record, a 2.61 ERA, a 19 Holds, a 26 strikeouts in 31 innings. In the

2019 Japan Series The 2019 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2019'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2019 season. The 70th edition of the Japan Series, it was played from 19-23 October. Th ...

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 ...

, he pitched in Game 4 and contributed to the team's third consecutive Japan Series champion. In the match 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 September 3, 2020, Kayama has achieved a total of 300 pitches. In 2020 season, he recorded with a 50 Games pitched, a 3–1 Win–loss record, a 2.10 ERA, a 18 Holds, a 33 strikeouts in 30 innings. In the

2020 Japan Series The 2020 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2020'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2020 season. The 71st edition of the Japan Series, it was played from November 21 to 25. ...

against the

, he pitched in Game 2 and Game 4 and contributed to the team's fourth consecutive Japan Series champion with no hits and no runs.

2021season–present

On April 23, 2021, Kayama won national free agent rights. He achieved his 100th career Holds on October 5 against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. He finished the 2021 season with a 1–0 Win–loss record, a 4.71 ERA, a 19 Holds, and a 27 strikeouts in 28.2 innings, in five straight seasons as a one-point reliever against left-handed batters, pitching in 50 or more games. He signed a two-year contract with the team for an estimated salary of 160 million yen plus incentives without exercising his domestic free agent rights. kayama continued to serve the team as a one-point reliever during the 2022 season, going scoreless in 21 consecutive games from the opening game until he gave up a goal 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) ...

on June 4. He pitched in 58 games, posting a career-best 0.99 ERA and 28 holds, and also finished the season with 22 strikeouts in 27.1 innings pitched.

International career

On October 24, 2019, he was selected as the

Japan national baseball team The is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009, as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Sof ...

in the

2019 WBSC Premier12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship ...

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp

- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Kayama, Shinya 1989 births Living people Atenienses de Manatí (baseball) players Japanese expatriate baseball players in Puerto Rico Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Baseball people from Okinawa Prefecture 2019 WBSC Premier12 players