Shinnosuke Ogasawara

Shinnosuke Ogasawara
小笠原慎之介
Chunichi Dragons – No. 11
Starting pitcher
Born: (1997-10-08) October 8, 1997
Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
Bats: Left Throws: Left
debut
31st May, 2016, for the Chunichi Dragons
NPB statistics
(through 2016)
Win-Loss record 2-6
Innings Pitched 72.1
ERA 3.36
Strikeouts 58
Teams

Shinnosuke Ogasawara (小笠原 慎之介 Ogasawara Shinnosuke, born October 8, 1997 in Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan) is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Chunichi Dragons.

Ogasawara was the winning pitcher at the 2015 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. He holds the record for the worst start to a rookie season in the Japanese Central League 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 Cup.[1] 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.[2]

Tokai University Sagami Senior High School

Ogasawara rose to prominence as his school, Tokai University Sagami Senior High, 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 the 9th inning to clinch the title.[3] 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.[2]

Japan U-18 National Baseball Team

He took part in the 27th U-18 Baseball World Cup in 2015[4] where he helped the team to second place after being beaten in the final by the USA.[5] 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 in the semi-final with two strikeouts.[6]

2015 NPB Draft

At the 2015 NPB Draft, he was the contested first draft pick for the Chunichi Dragons and the Nippon Ham Fighters after both teams lost out on Jumpei Takahashi 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.[7] Ogasawara was given a \100,000,000 signing on bonus plus \5,000,000 in incentives to go with a \15,000,000 yearly salary[8]

He was given the number 11 which was previously worn by Chunichi ace, Kenshin Kawakami.[9]

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 rookie to debut on the opening day of interleague play.[10] Ogasawara started the game and pitched 5 innings including 4 strikeouts, 7 walks and one earned run. It would not however be a debut win as a late inning 4-run blow-out from closer Koji Fukutani gave the win to the Hawks.[11][12] On 7 June, Ogasawara would be robbed once again of his maiden win this time against the Orix Buffaloes as Shinji Tajima gave up a run in the 9th inning to even the scores. Reliever Toshiya Okada would take the win after the game went to extra innings.[13] 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[14] resulting in his de-registering from the first team.[15]

On 11 July, Ogasawara made an appearance in the 9th inning against the Yokohama DeNA Baystars at Yokohama Stadium in his first return to his hometown since being drafted.[16] He would finish the game with a scoreless inning including a strikeout of Baystars slugger and 2016 NPB All-Star, Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh.[17]

On 24 July at the Nagoya Dome, Ogasawara made his first starting appearance in Nagoya and the Central League against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows where he was the losing pitcher once more, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks in five innings, while striking out two.[18][19]

On 7 August, in another game against the Yokohama DeNA Baystars, Ogasawara formed a combined rookie battery 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).[20]

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.[21][22] 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.[21][23] 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.[24][25]

On 4 September, Ogasawara finally achieved his first win in his 12th match of the season against the Yomiuri Giants at the Tokyo Dome pitching 7 innings, taking 10 strikeouts and conceding three earned runs in a 5-3 win.[26][27][28] He became the 7th Dragons high school rookie since Shinji Imanaka in 1989 to get a win in his first season.[27] Ogasawara's following start against the Yakult Swallows at Meiji Jingu Stadium 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.[29][30]

Ogasawara finished his rookie season with a 2-6 record in decisions taking 58 strikeouts with an ERA 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.[31][32][33][34]

On 12 November, Ogasawara received a \3,000,000 pay increase moving to an annual salary of \18,000,000.[35]

Pitching Style

Ogasawara throws 4 pitches - a fastball that tops out at 94.4mp/h (average speeds of around 86-91mp/h), a 62mp/h curveball,[36] a slider and a change-up that comes out of the hand in a similar way to his straight delivery.[37]

Upon his debut, Ogasawara threw mostly only his fastball and his change-up in the strike zone not unlike team-mate Shunta Wakamatsu,[38] however with further experience he started landing his curveball and slider in the zone taking more strikeouts in the process.[36]

Personal

"Shinnosuke" is a name inherited from his grandfather.[39]

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.[39][40][41] They played together in a local park as boys and their homes are said to be separated by about 10 minutes walk.[41] When Shuhei turned professional with the Dragons, it was the then middle-school student Ogasawara that presented him with a celebratory bouquet.[42]

He has remarked on his admiration Masahiro Yamamoto formerly of the Dragons and Hiroki Kokubo the current manager of the Japan national baseball team.[43][44] Ogasawara also has great respect for former New York Mets and San Francisco Giants outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo hoping to emulate his success.[45]

He is also a fan of pro wrestling and the WWE. Ogasawara admires Japanese wrestler, Tatsumi Fujinami.[43]

Ogasawara also enjoys the Japanese idol girl group SKE48 and supports Jurina Matsui. He has been cheering her on since elementary school and knew of her since her featuring on AKB48's 2008 single Ōgoe Diamond. He mentions that "I thought she was really young and really gave her all."[46]

References

  1. ↑ "全日本中学野球選手権大会ジャイアンツカップ　(All Japan Middle School Baseball Tounament; Giants Cup)". Yomiuri Giants Official Website (in Japanese). 13 August 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 "小笠原 慎之介(東海大相模)(Shinnosuke Ogasawara (Tokaidai Sagami))". DraftRepo. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Tokaidai Sagami wins Koshien Title". Japan Times. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "Shinnosuke Ogasawara - 27th WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup". Japan National Baseball Team Official Site. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "SAMURAI JAPAN U-18 lost a close game against the United States by one point, ending in two-time consecutive second place.". 6 September 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "OGASAWARA Shinnosuke #16". WBSC. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Hawks snatch rights to negotiate with pitcher Takahashi in NPB draft". Japan Times. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  8. ↑ "中日、Ｄ１小笠原と合意　高卒新人最高評価の年俸１５００万円 (Chunichi's #1 Draft pick Ogasawara agreement:HS Newbie Highest rating is worth 15 million)". Sanspo. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  9. ↑ "中日１位小笠原に背番11　川上憲伸以来の新人王 (Chunichi's #1 Draft pick Ogasawara gets number 11; Carrying on from Kenshin Kawakami,the newbie king)". Nikkan Sports. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  10. ↑ "中日小笠原が交流戦史上初の高卒新人開幕デビュー(Chunichi's Ogasawara first HS rookie to debut on interleague opening day)". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 31 May 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "Tuesday, May 31, 2016". NPB.jp. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  12. ↑ "Dramatic return: Giants' Abe slugs winning homer against Buffaloes in season debut". Japan Times. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  13. ↑ "Tuesday, June 7, 2016". NPB.jp. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  14. ↑ "Thursday, June 16, 2016". Nippon Professional Baseball. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  15. ↑ "出場選手登録および登録抹消 (Player Registration and De-registration)". Nippon Professional Baseball (in Japanese). 17 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  16. ↑ "【中日】小笠原、懐かしの"我が家"で１イニング無失点 (1 scoreless inning at Ogasawara's nostaligic "home")". Sports Hochi (in Japanese). 11 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  17. ↑ "Monday, July 11, 2016". Nippon Professional Baseball. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  18. ↑ "Swallows pitcher Sato earns first win in five years". Japan Times. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  19. ↑ "Sunday, July 24, 2016". Nippon Professional Baseball. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  20. ↑ "中日18年ぶり新人バッテリー、珍事ＤｅＮＡも…" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  21. 1 2 "中日ドラ１小笠原７回２失点も初勝利はまたもお預け (Ogasawara, 7 innings 2 earned runs, still waiting on maiden win)". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 21 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  22. ↑ "Giants starter Otake befuddles Tigers during eight stellar innings on mound". Japan Times. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  23. ↑ "Saturday, August 20, 2016". Nippon Professional Baseball. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  24. ↑ "中日・小笠原、好投も５敗目…高卒新人５５年ぶりデビュー５連敗　(Chunichi - Ogasawsara, good pitching, 5th loss. First high school rookie to 5 straight losses in debut season in 55 years)". Sanspo (in Japanese). 21 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  25. ↑ "中日・小笠原　セ高卒新人ワースト新デビュー５連敗 (Chunichi - Ogasawara - Central League high school rookie worst debut season - 5 straight losses)". Sponichi (in Japanese). 21 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  26. ↑ "Nakagawa grand slam helps Eagles down Hawks". Japan Times. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  27. 1 2 "中日ドラ１小笠原　甲子園Ｖ腕高卒新人"最遅"１勝　１２試合目やっと (Chunichi's #1 Ogasawara, the "slowest" koshien winning pitcher to first pro win; after 12 games, finally)" (in Japanese). Sponichi. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  28. ↑ "Sunday, September 4, 2016". Nippon Professional Baseball. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  29. ↑ "小笠原２勝　先発初の無失点　(Ogasawara's 2nd Win; first scoreless start)" (in Japanese). Chunichi Sports. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  30. ↑ "Sunday, September 18, 2016". Nippon Professional Baseball. 18 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  31. ↑ "中日・小笠原が左肘を手術 (Chunichi. Ogasawara's left elbow surgery)" (in Japanese). Sanspo. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  32. ↑ "小笠原、手術「覚悟してた」 (Ogasawara surgery "I prepared for this")" (in Japanese). Chunichi Sports. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  33. ↑ "小笠原　左肘"ネズミ"除去手術へ　来季への不安取り除くため (Ogasawara left elbow "rat" removal surgery, in order to remove any uncertainty from next season)" (in Japanese). Sponichi. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  34. ↑ "中日小笠原、左ヒジ手術「開幕間に合わないかも」 (Chunichi's Ogasawara, left elbow surgery "I might not make opening day")" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  35. ↑ "小笠原「ビックリ」３００万円増　来季は１２勝目標 (Ogasawara "surprised" at 3 million boost; aims for 12 wins next season)" (in Japanese). Sponichi. 12 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  36. 1 2 Konshi, Ryo (2016). "若竜夏の思い出、小笠原慎之介 (Young Dragons Summer memories; Shinnosuke Ogasawara)". Dragons月刊 (Dragons Monthly) (in Japanese): 24–25. ASIN B01K1J1QSO.
  37. ↑ "Shinnosuke Ogasawara". Yakyuu Tarou (in Japanese). 17: 72–73. 2015.
  38. ↑ Allen, Jim; Gibson, John (20 June 2016). "JBW -- Nanita, Interleague, Ichiro 6-20" (Podcast). Japan Baseball. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  39. 1 2 "中日１位小笠原「心強い」チームに先輩周平アニキ (Draft pick #1 Ogasawara reassured by former team-mate, big bro, Shuhei)". NikkanSports.com. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  40. ↑ "チーム情報(Team Information)". Shonan Boys. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  41. 1 2 "実家が近所の小笠原加入で中日・周平に刺激 (Shuhei stimulated by hometown neighbour Ogasawara's addition to Dragons)" (in Japanese). Tokyo Sports. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  42. ↑ "【中日】ドラ１小笠原、幼なじみ高橋周と対面「気持ちが高ぶった」 (Chunichi: Draft #1 Ogasawara, "it was fantastic to see Shuhei")" (in Japanese). Sports Hochi. 27 December 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  43. 1 2 "中日ドラ１小笠原が敬愛する２人の"龍レジェンド (Chunichi's Ogasawara reveals respect of two "Dragons legends")". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 24 November 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  44. ↑ "中日１位小笠原満額入団、小久保監督の侍入りも宣言 (Ogasawara's full price entry to the Dragons; Kokubo's national team declaration)". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 24 November 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  45. ↑ "中日ドラ１小笠原　新庄のように魅了する選手に (Chunichi's Ogasawara wants to be a bewitching player like Shinjo)". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 11 December 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  46. ↑ 31 March 2016. "【中日】ドラ１小笠原、ＳＫＥ珠理奈との記念撮影うらやむ「開幕１軍はいいなあ」 (Chunichi's Draft #1 Ogasawara, envious of memorial shoot with SKE's Jurina "I wish I was in the first team on starting day")" (in Japanese). Sports Hochi. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.