Katsunori Nomura
Encyclopedia
was a NPB catcher
from 1996–2006. He is currently a catching coach for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
. He is the son of NPB catching-great and long-time manager Katsuya Nomura
, who also managed him for five seasons—two with the Yakult Swallows
, two with the Hanshin Tigers
and one with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
.
in the third round of the 1995 Nippon Professional Baseball draft. He played two seasons with the Yakult Swallows
under his father, manager Katsuya Nomura
. After the 1998 season, his father left the Swallows and Katsunori was sent to the club's farm team for the entirety of the 1999 season. He was then traded to the Hanshin Tigers
, where he was again managed by his father for two more seasons. In 2003, he spent the entire season playing on the Tigers' farm team.
On January 25, 2004, his contract was purchased by the Yomiuri Giants
and he was traded from the Tigers. While it was a relatively minor trade, it made headlines because of Katsunori's father's longtime resentment of the Giants. Some also saw the trade as an opportunity for Katsunori "to step out of his famous father's shadow." However, Katsunori only played in three games with the Giants and was released following the end of the 2003 season. He played his final two seasons with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
in 2005 and 2006 and announced his retirement on September 30, 2006. During his time in the majors, Katsunori was utilized as a second or third-string catcher. He has been a catching coach for the Golden Eagles since 2007.
Some have suggested that the only reason Katsunori Nomura was given the opportunity to play in the NPB was because of his father's connections in the league. The Japan Times
columnist Marty Kuehnert believes that he "hitched a ride" on his father's name, but his "statistics don't add up to a good month, or even week, of [Katsuya Nomura's] production". Of the four NPB teams Katsunori played for throughout his playing career, three of them were managed by his father: the Swallows, the Tigers and the Golden Eagles.
. His stepbrother is infamous baseball agent
Don Nomura
. After a 2001 tax evasion
scandal involving Katsunori's mother Sachiyo Nomura, Katsunori was supportive during months preceding Sachiyo's arrest. This is in contrast to Kenneth Engel and Don Nomura, Sachiyo's children from a previous marriage, who publicly disown her. He has two children with his wife Yukiko.
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
from 1996–2006. He is currently a catching coach for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
The is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,...
. He is the son of NPB catching-great and long-time manager Katsuya Nomura
Katsuya Nomura
was one of Nippon Professional Baseball's greatest players as a catcher and was also a long-time manager for the Yakult Swallows, the Hanshin Tigers, and the Rakuten Golden Eagles of NPB's Pacific League.-Career:...
, who also managed him for five seasons—two with the Yakult Swallows
Tokyo Yakult Swallows
is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei...
, two with the Hanshin Tigers
Hanshin Tigers
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...
and one with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
The is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,...
.
Career
Katsunori Nomura was drafted by the Yakult SwallowsTokyo Yakult Swallows
is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei...
in the third round of the 1995 Nippon Professional Baseball draft. He played two seasons with the Yakult Swallows
Tokyo Yakult Swallows
is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei...
under his father, manager Katsuya Nomura
Katsuya Nomura
was one of Nippon Professional Baseball's greatest players as a catcher and was also a long-time manager for the Yakult Swallows, the Hanshin Tigers, and the Rakuten Golden Eagles of NPB's Pacific League.-Career:...
. After the 1998 season, his father left the Swallows and Katsunori was sent to the club's farm team for the entirety of the 1999 season. He was then traded to the Hanshin Tigers
Hanshin Tigers
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...
, where he was again managed by his father for two more seasons. In 2003, he spent the entire season playing on the Tigers' farm team.
On January 25, 2004, his contract was purchased by the Yomiuri Giants
Yomiuri Giants
The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the...
and he was traded from the Tigers. While it was a relatively minor trade, it made headlines because of Katsunori's father's longtime resentment of the Giants. Some also saw the trade as an opportunity for Katsunori "to step out of his famous father's shadow." However, Katsunori only played in three games with the Giants and was released following the end of the 2003 season. He played his final two seasons with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
The is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,...
in 2005 and 2006 and announced his retirement on September 30, 2006. During his time in the majors, Katsunori was utilized as a second or third-string catcher. He has been a catching coach for the Golden Eagles since 2007.
Some have suggested that the only reason Katsunori Nomura was given the opportunity to play in the NPB was because of his father's connections in the league. The Japan Times
The Japan Times
The Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
columnist Marty Kuehnert believes that he "hitched a ride" on his father's name, but his "statistics don't add up to a good month, or even week, of [Katsuya Nomura's] production". Of the four NPB teams Katsunori played for throughout his playing career, three of them were managed by his father: the Swallows, the Tigers and the Golden Eagles.
Career statistics
| Year | Uniform # | Team | G Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,... |
AB At bat In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance... |
R Run (baseball) 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 are met or assured... |
H Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice.... |
2B Double (baseball) In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... |
3B Triple (baseball) In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... |
HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process... |
RBI Run batted in Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI... |
BB | SB Stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate... |
AVG Batting average Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :... |
OBP On base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes... |
SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Yakult Swallows Tokyo Yakult Swallows is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei... |
Spent season in minor leagues | |||||||||||||
| 26 | 31 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .258 | .303 | .387 | |||
| 25 | 23 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .174 | .208 | .174 | |||
| Spent season in minor leagues | |||||||||||||||
| 50 | Hanshin Tigers Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly... |
43 | 49 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | .265 | .327 | .449 | |
| 52 | 95 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 0 | .211 | .257 | .274 | |||
| 11 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .188 | .188 | .313 | |||
| Spent season in minor leagues | |||||||||||||||
| 63 | Yomiuri Giants Yomiuri Giants The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the... |
3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .400 | .333 | |
| 52 | Golden Eagles Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,... |
6 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .100 | .100 | .100 | |
| 56 | 129 | 8 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 1 | .124 | .186 | .171 | |||
| Totals | 222 | 356 | 18 | 66 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 20 | 1 | .185 | .237 | .261 | ||
Personal life
Katsunori Nomura is the son of NPB catching-great and long-time manager Katsuya NomuraKatsuya Nomura
was one of Nippon Professional Baseball's greatest players as a catcher and was also a long-time manager for the Yakult Swallows, the Hanshin Tigers, and the Rakuten Golden Eagles of NPB's Pacific League.-Career:...
. His stepbrother is infamous baseball agent
Sports agent
A sports agent procures and negotiates employment and endorsement contracts for an athlete.In return, the sports agent generally receives between 4 and 10% of the athlete's playing contract, and 10 to 20% of the athlete's endorsement contract, though these figures vary...
Don Nomura
Don Nomura
, is a sports agent who primarily represents Japanese baseball players.-Early life:Don Nomura was born Donald Engel at St. Luke's International Hospital in Chūō, Tokyo. Born to an American father and a Japanese mother, Yoshie Itō left the family when Don was six, leaving Alvin George Engel to care...
. After a 2001 tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
scandal involving Katsunori's mother Sachiyo Nomura, Katsunori was supportive during months preceding Sachiyo's arrest. This is in contrast to Kenneth Engel and Don Nomura, Sachiyo's children from a previous marriage, who publicly disown her. He has two children with his wife Yukiko.