is a Japanese former

baseball 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 ...

. Yabuta made his professional debut with the Marines in 1996, and spent 12 years with the organization. He competed in 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 ...

and struck out

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

Johnny Damon Johnny David Damon (born November 5, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2012. During his MLB career, Damon played for the Kansas City Royals (1995–2000), Oakland ...

, and

Derrek Lee Derrek Leon Lee (born September 6, 1975), nicknamed "D-Lee", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Lee played with the San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates ...

. He served as a setup man for the Marines in 2007 recording a 4–6 record with a 2.73

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. Comp ...

in 58 games. After the season, he declared his

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 came to America to pursue a Major League Baseball career. On November 22, 2007, the Kansas City Star reported that the Kansas City Royals agreed with Yabuta on a two-year contract with a club option for 2010. Yabuta officially signed with the Royals on November 28, 2007. He signed a two-year, $6 million deal with the Kansas City Royals. The deal included a $4 million club option for a third year. Yabuta was sent down to Triple-A

Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

on June 25, 2008. He was designated for assignment on August 2 and was eventually sent outright to the minors. He was brought back to the Royals when the rosters expanded on September 1. His teammates on the Royals have given him the nickname "Shake." On November 24, 2009, he signed a one-year deal with his old team Chiba Lotte, and he has remained with the team since.Yabuta returning to old club Lotte
Accessed November 23, 2009.

References

External links

Yasuhiko Yabuta Official Web SiteJapanese league stats and info of Yasuhiko Yabuta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yabuta, Yasuhiko 1973 births 2006 World Baseball Classic players Chiba Lotte Marines players Japanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Kansas City Royals players Living people Major League Baseball players from Japan Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Omaha Royals players People from Kishiwada, Osaka Baseball people from Osaka Prefecture