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 ...

player. He plays

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

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) ...

. Ogasawara was the winning pitcher at the Summer Koshien tournament and was regarded as the second best high school pitching prospect in the 2015 draft class behind Gifu Commercial High School's

Jumpei Takahashi is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Early career Takahashi participated in the 3rd grade spring 87th Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament and the ...

. He holds the record for the worst start to a rookie season in the Japanese

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

going 0-5 in decisions before registering his first professional win. He has represented Japan on the international stage at under-15 and under-18 level helping his country to a runner-up position in the 2015 U-18 Baseball World Cup.

Early career

Junior high school

While studying at Zengyo Junior High School, Ogasawara played for the Shonan Boys where in his last year with team he helped them to win the annual

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

Cup. In the semi-final, he threw down 9 strikeouts in 7 innings for only 2 runs allowed and in the final threw 3 innings and 6Ks for one hit. His success in the tournament led to his selection in the Japan U-15 squad.

Tokai University Sagami Senior High School

Ogasawara rose to prominence as his school,

Tokai University is a private non-sectarian higher education institution located in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded by Dr. Shigeyoshi Matsumae. It was accredited under Japan's old educational system in 1946 and under the new system in 1950. In 2008, Tokai Un ...

Sagami Sagami may refer to: * Sagami, an 11th-century ''waka'' poet *Sagami Province, an old province in Japan *Sagami River, a river in Kanagawa and Yamanashi *Sagami Bay, a bay south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshū *Sagami Line, a railway roughly along ...

Senior High 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 ...

, won the 2015 Koshien tournament. He pitched a winning 161 ball game in the final against Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School as well as hitting a solo

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 ...

in the 9th inning to clinch the title. In the tournament, Ogasawara pitched in 6 games, throwing down 26.1 innings, taking 23 strikeouts and conceding 9 earned runs with an ERA of 3.08.

Japan U-18 National Baseball Team

He took part in the 27th U-18 Baseball World Cup in where he helped the team to second place after being beaten in the final by the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Ogasawara finished the tournament with an untarnished 0.00 ERA. He pitched 6 innings against Australia taking 9 strikeouts allowing 3 hits while he pitched just two innings 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 ...

in the semi-final with two strikeouts.

2015 NPB Draft

At the 2015 NPB Draft, he was the contested first

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

pick for the

and 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 s ...

after both teams lost out on

to the SoftBank Hawks. The Dragons would eventually prevail in acquiring the star high school pitcher, in a lottery with the Fighters, and won the right to negotiate a contract. Ogasawara was given a ¥100,000,000 signing on bonus plus ¥50,000,000 in incentives to go with a ¥15,000,000 yearly salary He was given the number 11 which was previously worn by Chunichi

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

, Kenshin Kawakami.

Professional career

Chunichi Dragons

2016

On 31 May, Ogasawara made his professional debut for the Dragons against the SoftBank Hawks as the first

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 ...

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 ...

to debut on the opening day of

interleague 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. Pri ...

play. Ogasawara started the game and pitched 5 innings including 4 strikeouts, 7 walks and one

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

. It would not however be a debut win as a late inning 4-run blow-out from closer

Koji Fukutani Koji, Kōji, Kohji or Kouji may refer to: *Kōji (given name), a masculine Japanese given name *Kōji (Heian period) (康治), Japanese era, 1142–1144 *Kōji (Muromachi period) (弘治), Japanese era, 1555–1558 *Koji orange, a Japanese citrus ...

gave the win to the Hawks. On 7 June, Ogasawara would be robbed once again of his maiden win this time against the Orix Buffaloes as

Shinji Tajima is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for 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 Professi ...

gave up a run in the 9th inning to even the scores.

Reliever 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, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather ...

Toshiya Okada would take the win after the game went to

extra innings Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie. Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine regulation innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little Lea ...

. On 16 June, Ogasawara would lose his first game as a pro after pitching 5 innings conceding 7 hits and 3 earned runs 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 ...

resulting in his de-registering from the first team. On 11 July, Ogasawara made an appearance in the 9th inning 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 ...

Yokohama Stadium is a baseball stadium in Naka-ku, Yokohama, Japan. It opened in 1978 and has a capacity of 34,046 people. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The stadium features dirt around the bases an ...

in his first return to his hometown since being drafted. He would finish the game with a scoreless inning including a strikeout of Baystars slugger and NPB All-Star,

Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder and first baseman in the Texas Rangers organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates and for the Yokohama BayStars/ ...

. On 24 July at the Nagoya Dome, Ogasawara made his first starting appearance in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

and the

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 ...

where he was the losing pitcher once more, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks in five innings, while striking out two. On 7 August, in another game against the Yokohama DeNA Baystars, Ogasawara formed a combined rookie

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

with number 3 2015 draft pick Takuya Kinoshita; the first time in 18 years for the Dragons (the last being Kenshin Kawakami and Fumihiro Suzuki in 1998). On 20 August, against the Baystars, he pitched a season high 7 innings but was unable to claim his first win of the season after giving up Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh's 36th home run of the season in his first inning. It marked one of Ogasawara's best returns as a starter however as he used his curveball to good effect to claim 8 strikeouts only conceding 3 hits and two runs. Unfortunately the game would be his 5th straight loss marking it the worst debut season for a high school rookie pitcher in 55 years in the NPB and the worst ever in the Central League. On 4 September, Ogasawara finally achieved his first win in his 12th match of the season 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 ...

at the

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...

pitching 7 innings, taking 10 strikeouts and conceding three earned runs in a 5-3 win. He became the 7th Dragons high school rookie since Shinji Imanaka in to get a win in his first season. Ogasawara's following start against the Yakult Swallows at

Meiji Jingu Stadium The is a baseball stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It opened in 1926 and holds 37,933 spectators. Property of the Meiji Shrine, it is the home field of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows professional baseball team. It also hosts college baseball, inc ...

on 18 September would also result in a win where he threw down 6.2 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts, 6 walks and 4 hits to help the Dragons climb off the bottom of the table. Ogasawara finished his rookie season with a 2-6 record in decisions taking 58 strikeouts with an

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 ...

of 3.36. In Fall training however, after being pushed to throw over 200 pitches in one day, he suffered from cartilage damage in his left elbow and required surgery effectively ruling him out for the entirety of the off-season. On 12 November, Ogasawara received a ¥3,000,000 pay increase moving to an annual salary of ¥18,000,000.

2017

Ogasawara spent the beginning of the season tuning up on the farm following his injury in late 2016, but made his first appearance of the season on 6 May, in a single relief inning against the

. Ogasawara would go on to make his first start of the season on 9 May where he threw down 5 innings for 3-earned runs in a 3-1 loss to the

at Nagoya Dome. Following his second win of the season against the

on 24 June, Ogasawara became the first teenage pitcher since

Yutaka Enatsu is a former Japanese pitcher regarded as one of the best Japanese strikeout pitchers of all-time. In , he recorded 401 strikeouts, which is still the world record. Enatsu was a bit player in the Black Mist Scandal which embroiled Japanese baseb ...

in 1967 to have a 2-0 untarnished record against the Giants to start his career.

2018

Ogasawara started the season as opening day pitcher. Issues with injury however limited Ogasawara's appearances over the year and on the 4 August, underwent surgery on his elbow, identical to the surgery he had received the year before. Ogaswara would not make any further appearances, ending the year pitching 107.1 innings at a 4.11 ERA. As a result, he received no pay raise at the end of the season.

Pitching Style

Ogasawara throws 4 pitches - a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

that tops out at 94.4mp/h (average speeds of around 86-91mp/h), a 62mp/h curveball, a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

and a

change-up A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

that comes out of the hand in a similar way to his straight delivery. Upon his debut, Ogasawara threw mostly only his fastball and his change-up in the strike zone however with further experience he started landing his curveball and slider in the zone taking more strikeouts in the process.

Personal

"Shinnosuke" is a name inherited from his grandfather. He shares the same hometown as team-mate Shuhei Takahashi and the two attended the same elementary school and played at the same junior baseball side Shonan Boys. They played together in a local park as boys and their homes are said to be separated by about 10 minutes walk. When Shuhei turned professional with the Dragons, it was the then middle-school student Ogasawara that presented him with a celebratory bouquet. He has remarked on his admiration for Masahiro Yamamoto formerly of the Dragons and Hiroki Kokubo former

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. ...

infielder and then manager of 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 Softb ...

. Ogasawara also has great respect for former

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

outfielder

Tsuyoshi Shinjo , also known as , is a former Japanese professional baseball outfielder and current manager for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Born on January 28, 1972, Shinjo is the second Japanese-born position player ...

hoping to emulate his success. He is also a fan of

pro wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

and the

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

. Ogasawara admires Japanese wrestler,

Tatsumi Fujinami (born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. ...

. Ogasawara also enjoys the

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements ...

girl group

SKE48 SKE48 (S.K.E. Forty-eight) is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. SKE48 is named after the Sakae district in Nagoya of Aichi Prefecture, where the group is based. The group performs at SKE48 Theater on 2F of Sunshine Sakae, a ...

and supports

Jurina Matsui is a Japanese TV personality, singer, actress, and YouTuber. She is a former member of Japanese idol girl group SKE48 and former concurrent member of AKB48 (in 2012–2015). She is recognized as SKE48's absolute "ace", having placed in the top ...

. He has been cheering her on since elementary school and knew of her since her featuring on

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with ...

's 2008 single

Ōgoe Diamond is the 10th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, the 12th overall and the first on King Records, released on October 22, 2008. It was the first single for Jurina Matsui from SKE48 and also the first AKB48's single to feature a member o ...

. He mentions that "I thought she was really young and really gave her all."　On 5 May 2017, when Ogasawara was with the first team, it was Matsui who performed the first pitch ceremony where the SKE48 performer admitted to following Ogasawara on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and knowing of his fondness for pro-wrestling.

External links

Dragons.jp (Japanese)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogasawara, Shinnosuke 1997 births Living people Baseball people from Kanagawa Prefecture Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Chunichi Dragons players People from Fujisawa, Kanagawa