Michihiro Ogasawara (小笠原 道大, born October 25, 1973 in Mihama-ku, Chiba

Mihama-ku, Chiba

is one of the six wards of the city of Chiba in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the ward had an estimated population of 150,382 and a population density of 7,110 persons per km². The total area was 21.16 km².-Geography:...

, Chiba Prefecture

Chiba Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

) is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 professional baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 player. He currently plays first base

First baseman

First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...

 for 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...

 in Japan's Central League

Central League

The or is one 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 consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League...

 . He played with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters from to .

Career

Ogasawara is one of the most consistent hitters in Japanese baseball. He won two consecutive batting titles from -, and led the league in home runs and RBIs in to win the Pacific League

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...

 MVP award. He led the league in hits from -, and has won 6 Japanese Golden Glove awards at first base and third base

Third baseman

A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...

. He participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics

Baseball at the 2004 Summer Olympics

-Preliminary round:The top four teams advanced to the semifinals. To determine the seed ranking of teams tied in the standings, the result of the two teams' game against each other was used. Japan therefore received first place due to the win over Cuba. In the semi-finals, Japan played...

 held in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, winning a bronze medal. He also played for the Japanese national team

Japan national baseball team

The Japan national baseball team is the national baseball team representing Japan in international competitions. They are one of the more successful baseball teams in the world, having won the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009...

 in the 2006 World Baseball Classic

2006 World Baseball Classic

---------Pool B:-------------Pool C:-------------Pool D:-------------Pool 1:-----------------Pool 2:-------------Finals:-Semifinals:-Final:-Final standings:...

, where he hit a home run off Esteban Loaiza

Esteban Loaiza

Esteban Antonio Loaiza Veyna [lo-EYE-sa] is a former Major League Baseball pitcher...

 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim

Angel Stadium of Anaheim

Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams...

. In 2006, he helped the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters win their first Pacific League pennant since , sweeping the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

The are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were...

 in the playoffs to reach the Japanese championship series against the Chunichi Dragons

Chunichi Dragons

The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:...

. The Fighters beat the Dragons in 5 games to win the Japanese championship series.

He became a free agent in 2006, and signed a four-year contract with 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...

 during the off-season.

Career statistics

Nippon Professional Baseball
Year	Age	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...	TB Total bases In baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i.e., the sum of his hits weighted by 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run.Only bases attained from hits count toward this total....	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...	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 :...
	24	Nippon-Ham	44	94	7	21	10	2	0	35	7	1	.223
	25	Nippon-Ham	71	86	7	26	5	0	1	34	9	1	.302
	26	Nippon-Ham	135	547	90	156	34	4	25	273	83	3	.285
	27	Nippon-Ham	135	554	126	182	23	4	31	306	102	24	.329
	28	Nippon-Ham	140	576	108	195	40	2	32	335	86	1	.339
	29	Nippon-Ham	135	486	77	165	27	2	32	292	81	8	.340
	30	Nippon-Ham	128	445	83	160	34	1	31	289	100	8	.360
	31	Nippon-Ham	101	377	78	130	19	2	18	207	70	3	.345
	32	Nippon-Ham	133	514	91	145	27	2	37	287	92	2	.282
	33	Nippon-Ham	135	496	77	155	31	1	32	284	100	4	.313
	34	Yomiuri 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...	142	566	95	177	33	1	31	305	88	4	.313
	35	Yomiuri 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...	144	520	93	161	27	1	36	298	96	0	.310
	36	Yomiuri 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...	139	514	78	159	25	1	31	279	107	2	.309
	37	Yomiuri 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...	137	510	83	157	24	1	34	285	90	1	.308
	38	Yomiuri 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...	55	191	9	42	7	0	1	52	10	0	.220

Statistics current as of July 22, 2011

External links