Satoru Komiyama
Encyclopedia
, born September 15, 1965, is a professional baseball player from Kashiwa
, Chiba
, Japan
. He currently plays with the Chiba Lotte Marines
, and played in the major leagues with the New York Mets
in 2002.
college baseball team, and was drafted by the Lotte Orions (current Chiba Lotte Marines
) in the first round in 1989. He won 6 games as a rookie in 1990, and won 10 games in 1992, becoming the team's ace. He would be the opening-day starter for three consecutive years after this. In 1997, he won only 11 games, but recorded a 2.49 ERA, the best in the league. The Marines cut Komiyama in 1999, and he signed with the Yokohama BayStars
, playing two seasons where he posted ERA's under 4.00 as a starter. He became a free agent
, and signed with the New York Mets
in 2002, but returned to Japan after the season. He spent 2003 in semi-retirement, working as a baseball commentator while continuing his training. He returned to the Chiba Lotte Marines
in 2004, but was mostly unable to repeat his performances from earlier in his career with the team. However, he still managed to contribute to the team's championship in 2005, mostly pitching in long relief. In 2007, he revealed that he would throw pitches under-handed (submarine) as well as his usual over-handed form.
Komiyama has appeared as a baseball commentator numerous times, even though he is still an active player. He was rumored to start the 2007 season doubling as a relief pitcher and a pitching coach, but he has announced that he will not coach until after he has retired.
only reaching 50~60 mph, or 80~90 km/h) has been somewhat successful against batters. In his prime, he mostly relied on good control and outsmarting hitters. His fastball falls in the mid 80 mph range, but he has a large assortment of pitches, and has used a slider, curve, splitter, changeup, cutter, sinker, and shootball at various points in his career.
Kashiwa, Chiba
is a city located in northern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 404,820 and a population density of 3520 persons per km²...
, Chiba
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...
. He currently plays with the Chiba Lotte Marines
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 the Lotte conglomerate.-History:...
, and played in the major leagues with the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
in 2002.
Biography
Komiyama was a star on the Waseda UniversityWaseda University
, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
college baseball team, and was drafted by the Lotte Orions (current Chiba Lotte Marines
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 the Lotte conglomerate.-History:...
) in the first round in 1989. He won 6 games as a rookie in 1990, and won 10 games in 1992, becoming the team's ace. He would be the opening-day starter for three consecutive years after this. In 1997, he won only 11 games, but recorded a 2.49 ERA, the best in the league. The Marines cut Komiyama in 1999, and he signed with the Yokohama BayStars
Yokohama BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium....
, playing two seasons where he posted ERA's under 4.00 as a starter. He became a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
, and signed with the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
in 2002, but returned to Japan after the season. He spent 2003 in semi-retirement, working as a baseball commentator while continuing his training. He returned to the Chiba Lotte Marines
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 the Lotte conglomerate.-History:...
in 2004, but was mostly unable to repeat his performances from earlier in his career with the team. However, he still managed to contribute to the team's championship in 2005, mostly pitching in long relief. In 2007, he revealed that he would throw pitches under-handed (submarine) as well as his usual over-handed form.
Komiyama has appeared as a baseball commentator numerous times, even though he is still an active player. He was rumored to start the 2007 season doubling as a relief pitcher and a pitching coach, but he has announced that he will not coach until after he has retired.
Pitching style
Komiyama was never regarded as a truly dominating starter, even in the Japanese leagues, as he never won more than 12 games in a season. He posted an ERA below 3.00 in two of his seasons in Japan, but won only 11 games in both those years, and he has more losses than wins in his career. Komiyama has been known to experiment with various pitches during the off-season, and his most recent pitch, the "shakeball" (a variant of the knuckleballKnuckleball
A knuckleball is a baseball pitch with an erratic, unpredictable motion. The pitch is thrown so as to minimize the spin of the ball in flight. This causes vortices over the stitched seams of the baseball during its trajectory, which in turn can cause the pitch to change direction—and even...
only reaching 50~60 mph, or 80~90 km/h) has been somewhat successful against batters. In his prime, he mostly relied on good control and outsmarting hitters. His fastball falls in the mid 80 mph range, but he has a large assortment of pitches, and has used a slider, curve, splitter, changeup, cutter, sinker, and shootball at various points in his career.
External links
- Japanese statistics from Japanese Baseball.com
- Video clip of the shakeball