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 games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Hanshin Koshien Stadium. The Tigers are owned by Hanshin Electric Railway Co., ...

of the

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB). He has played in NPB 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 ...

. He last played for the

. Suzuki was the first draft pick for the Dragons in the 2013 NPB Draft.

Early career

Suzuki started playing baseball from the first year of elementary school. Starting off as a short-stop he was converted to pitching in the 5th grade. As a student at Kitahamatoubu Junior High, Suzuki played for Hamamatsu Senior where in his 3rd year the team were runners up at the Shizuoka prefectural tournament. He went to high school at Seirei Christopher High and in his first year was a bench player. In his second year the team made the best four of summer prefectural tournament and in his third year a best eight appearance was the best the school could muster as they failed to qualify for the summer Koshien.

Professional career

Chunichi Dragons

At the 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball draft, Suzuki was the first pick for the

after the team missed out on now

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 ...

closer, Yuki Matsui. He became the first player from Seirei Christopher High School to turn pro. He signed a contract bonus worth ¥80,000,000 with a yearly salary of ¥7,200,000. On 17 June 2014, in his native

Hamamatsu is a Cities of Japan, city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In September 2023, the city had an estimated population of 780,128 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, with a population density of over the t ...

, Suzuki made his NPB debut 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 ...

. He came in as a relief pitcher in the 8th inning, taking two strikeouts and giving up a solo homerun to

Shogo Akiyama is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and in NPB for the Saitama Seibu Lions. Career Sa ...

in his single inning. Suzuki would play in a further 4 matches in the 2014 season pitching 6 innings, taking 8 strikeouts for an ERA of 4.50. In the second team in his rookie season, he would go 2-4 taking 31 strikeouts in 38 innings at an ERA of 4.74 in the Western League. On 29 June 2015, he made his first appearance of the season with a scoreless one inning against the

Hiroshima 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 ...

On 5 July 2015, he made his first professional start 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 h ...

. Suzuki only pitched 3 innings after giving up 5 hits including 3 earned runs as well as walking 3 consecutive batters. Suzuki played in only two games with the first team in the 2015 season, pitching 4 innings with an ERA of 6.75. His results in the second team in 2015 were not too impressive either as he went 1-6 taking 26 strikeouts in 47 innings at an ERA of 3.45. In 2016, Suzuki started Spring training in the 2-gun team and impressed early by throwing 121 pitches in practice stating he wanted to give his all in any match and also admitting that last year "there was maybe something lacking technically as well as mentally." 2-gun pitching coach Kenta Asakura pointed to a need for him to strengthen his body if he wanted to compete at the highest level. Suzuki ended the camp having pitched 2200 pitches at an average of 90+ pitches per day. Suzuki failed to find favour in the first team in 2016, but spent time with the Western League side that took part in the Asian Winter Baseball tournament in Taiwan where he was a mainstay alongside team-mates, Hiroki Kondō and Hayato Mizowaki. After showing promise in spring training, Suzuki was called up to the first team for the first time in over a year where he pitched 1 inning of relief on 28 April against the

in a 6-0 loss. On 2 May Suzuki made his first start since 2015 against the

. On May 9, Suzuki recorded his first win in a Chunichi shirt in an 8-3 victory at Gifu Prefectural Baseball Stadium over 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 n ...

Gifu is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...

. Following a good showing on the farm in mid-2018, on September 9, Suzuki started his first game of the season against the

where he threw 5 innings for 2 earned runs in a

no-decision A no decision (sometimes written no-decision) is one of either of two sports statistics scenarios; one in baseball and softball, and the other in boxing and related combat sports. Baseball and softball A starting pitcher who leaves a game withou ...

. On December 2, 2020, he become a free agent.

Hanshin Tigers

On December 15, 2020, Suzuki signed with the

of the NPB and held press conference.

Pitching Style

Suzuki can throw 5 pitches including a fastball that tops out at 143 km/h, a curve, a change-up, a fork and a slider.

Personal

His spikes, glove and batting gloves are all of the "Sure Play" series provided by Sankyo Sports. As of 2014 only a very few players use the sports gear, including Rakuten's Yoshitaka Muto and former

Swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

Hiroki Sanada. According to Suzuki, because he used to train late for baseball he is fairly unaware of common trends on television such as

Momoiro Clover Z is a Japanese idol girl group, commonly abbreviated as MCZ or . The four members of MCZ are known for energetic performances, incorporating elements of ballet, gymnastics, and action movies. MCZ is notable for being the first female group to ho ...

and

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol musical girl group named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48 has sold more records than any other female musical act in Japanese history. AK ...

. His favorite actress is

Nanako Matsushima is a Japanese actress and model. She is best known for starring in the horror film ''Ring'' (1998) and the drama series '' A Story of Love'' (1997) and '' I'm Mita, Your Housekeeper.'' (2011). The latter's final episode reached a viewer rating of ...

as he watched the program 24 Hour Emergency Ward which she starred in when he was in middle school. He is said to be a big believer in cleanliness and fully cleaned his dormitory room before making his first pro appearance.

References

External links

Dragons.jp

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuki, Shōta 1995 births Living people Baseball people from Shizuoka Prefecture Chunichi Dragons players Hanshin Tigers players Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Hamamatsu