Takashi Toritani: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Japanese baseball player}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}} |
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}} |
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{{Infobox baseball biography |
{{Infobox baseball biography |
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| name = Takashi Toritani |
| name = Takashi Toritani |
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| image = HT-Takashi-Toritani.jpg |
| image = HT-Takashi-Toritani.jpg |
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| image_size = 250px |
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| caption = Toritani with the Hanshin Tigers |
| caption = Toritani with the Hanshin Tigers |
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| position = [[Shortstop]] |
| position = [[Shortstop]] |
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| team = |
| team = |
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| number = |
| number = |
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| bats = Left |
| bats = Left |
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| throws = Right |
| throws = Right |
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| debutyear = 2004 |
| debutyear = 2004 |
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| debutteam = Hanshin Tigers |
| debutteam = Hanshin Tigers |
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| finalleague = NPB |
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⚫ | |||
| finaldate = June 6 |
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| finalyear = 2021 |
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| finalteam = Chiba Lotte Marines |
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⚫ | |||
| statleague = NPB |
| statleague = NPB |
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| stat1label = [[Batting average]] |
| stat1label = [[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]] |
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| stat1value = . |
| stat1value = .278 |
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| stat2label = [[Hit (baseball)|Hits]] |
| stat2label = [[Hit (baseball)|Hits]] |
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| stat2value = |
| stat2value = 2,099 |
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| stat3label = [[Home run]]s |
| stat3label = [[Home run]]s |
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| stat3value = |
| stat3value = 138 |
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| stat4label = [[Runs batted in]] |
| stat4label = [[Runs batted in]] |
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| stat4value = |
| stat4value = 830 |
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| stat5label = [[Sacrifice bunt]] |
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| stat5value = 54 |
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| stat6label = [[Stolen base]] |
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| stat6value = 131 |
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| teams = |
| teams = |
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'''As player''' |
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*[[Hanshin Tigers]] ({{npby|2004}} |
*[[Hanshin Tigers]] ({{npby|2004}}–{{npby|2019}}) |
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*[[Chiba Lotte Marines]] ({{npby|2020}}–{{npby|2021}}) |
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'''As coach''' |
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*[[:ja:パナソニック野球部|Panasonic]] |
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| awards = |
| awards = |
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* |
* 6× [[Best Nine Award]] winner ({{npby|2008}}, {{npby|2010}}–{{npby|2011}}, {{npby|2013}}–{{npby|2015}}) |
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* |
* 7× [[Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Game|NPB All-Star]] ({{npby|2005}}–{{npby|2006}}, {{npby|2012}}–{{npby|2015}}, {{npby|2017}}) |
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* |
* 5× [[Mitsui Golden Glove Award|Golden Glove Award]] winner ({{npby|2010}}, {{npby|2013}}–{{npby|2015}}, {{npby|2017}}) |
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| update = February 15, 2016 |
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}} |
}} |
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{{Nihongo|'''Takashi Toritani'''|鳥谷 敬|Toritani Takashi|extra=born June 26, 1981}} is a Japanese |
{{Nihongo|'''Takashi Toritani'''|鳥谷 敬|Toritani Takashi|extra=born June 26, 1981}} is a Japanese former professional baseball player, baseball commentator, baseball critic, coach. |
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Toritani was one of the most highly coveted [[position player]]s in years as a [[Senior (education)|senior]] for [[Waseda University]] in 2003. He holds the current |
Toritani was one of the most highly coveted [[position player]]s in years as a [[Senior (education)|senior]] for [[Waseda University]] in 2003. He holds the current NPB record for most consecutive games played without missing an [[inning]] as a shortstop, and appeared in every Tigers game for over 13 years from 2005 to May 27, 2018 (1,939 regular season games). |
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==Early life |
==Early life== |
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Toritani was born in [[Higashimurayama, Tokyo]], the eldest of three brothers. He played for the Higashimurayama Junior Mets, Ozakudai Little League Club in his [[elementary school]] days in Higashimurayama and [[Hamura, Tokyo|Hamura]], and [[Mizuho, Tokyo|Mizuho]] Senior in his [[middle school|junior high school]] days in Hamura. |
Toritani was born in [[Higashimurayama, Tokyo]], the eldest of three brothers. He played for the Higashimurayama Junior Mets, Ozakudai Little League Club in his [[elementary school]] days in Higashimurayama and [[Hamura, Tokyo|Hamura]], and [[Mizuho, Tokyo|Mizuho]] Senior in his [[middle school|junior high school]] days in Hamura. |
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He played both [[shortstop]] and [[pitcher]] at Seibō Gakuen Senior High School in [[Saitama, Saitama|Saitama]]. He played in the 81st [[National High School Baseball Championship]] in 1999, coming on in [[Relief pitcher|relief]] in Seibō Gakuen's first game against [[Hita, Ōita|Hita]]-Rinkō High School (the [[Ōita Prefecture|Ōita]] champions) and clocking {{convert|143|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}}, but his team lost |
He played both [[shortstop]] and [[pitcher]] at Seibō Gakuen Senior High School in [[Saitama, Saitama|Saitama]]. He played in the 81st [[National High School Baseball Championship]] in 1999, coming on in [[Relief pitcher|relief]] in Seibō Gakuen's first game against [[Hita, Ōita|Hita]]-Rinkō High School (the [[Ōita Prefecture|Ōita]] champions) and clocking {{convert|143|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}}, but his team lost 5–3. |
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==College career== |
==College career== |
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Toritani went on to enroll at Waseda University as a [[human science]]s [[Academic major|major]]. There, he was surrounded by an impressive collection of talent: his year included then-[[right fielder]] [[Norichika Aoki]] ([[Tokyo Yakult Swallows]]), [[third baseman]] Toshimitsu Higa ([[Hiroshima Carp]]) and [[center fielder]] Shintaro Yoshida ([[Orix Buffaloes]]), all three of whom would later go on to the [[Professional baseball|pros]].<ref>[http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6741 "Future Shock: Hawaiian Winter Baseball Preview"] ''Baseball Prospectus''</ref><ref>[http://baseballguru.com/archives/entries/00000643.htm "Japanese Baseball News: Giants Get What They Want in Draft; Arias Out, Kinkade In?"] ''Baseball Guru''</ref> [[Left-handedness|Left-hander]] [[Tsuyoshi Wada]] ([[Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks]]) was in the year above him, and [[second baseman]] [[Hiroyasu Tanaka]] and [[first baseman]] Shinichi Takeuchi ( |
Toritani went on to enroll at Waseda University as a [[human science]]s [[Academic major|major]]. There, he was surrounded by an impressive collection of talent: his year included then-[[right fielder]] [[Norichika Aoki]] ([[Tokyo Yakult Swallows]]), [[third baseman]] Toshimitsu Higa ([[Hiroshima Carp]]) and [[center fielder]] Shintaro Yoshida ([[Orix Buffaloes]]), all three of whom would later go on to the [[Professional baseball|pros]].<ref>[http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6741 "Future Shock: Hawaiian Winter Baseball Preview"] ''Baseball Prospectus''</ref><ref>[http://baseballguru.com/archives/entries/00000643.htm "Japanese Baseball News: Giants Get What They Want in Draft; Arias Out, Kinkade In?"] ''Baseball Guru''</ref> [[Left-handedness|Left-hander]] [[Tsuyoshi Wada]] ([[Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks]]) was in the year above him, and [[second baseman]] [[Hiroyasu Tanaka]] (BayStars) and [[first baseman]] Shinichi Takeuchi (Swallows) would join the team one and two years later, respectively. |
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In the spring of 2001, then-[[Sophomore year|sophomore]] Toritani led the [[Tokyo Big6 Baseball League]] in all three [[Triple Crown |
In the spring of 2001, then-[[Sophomore year|sophomore]] Toritani led the [[Tokyo Big6 Baseball League]] in all three [[Major League Baseball Triple Crown|Triple Crown]] categories ([[batting average (baseball)|batting average]], [[home run]]s, [[Run batted in|runs batted in]]), tying current [[Saitama Seibu Lions]] [[third baseman]] [[Taketoshi Gotoh]] as the fastest player (by academic year) to win Triple Crown honors in the history of the [[Sports league|league]]. Toritani drew 19 combined [[Base on balls|walks]] and [[Hit by pitch|hit-batters]] in the spring 2003 [[Season (sports)|season]] as a senior, a Tokyo Big6 record (later broken by then-[[Rikkyo University]] [[outfielder]] Yuichi Tabata in 2004). He won his second [[Batting average (baseball)#Qualifications for the batting title|batting title]] that fall. |
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He won five Tokyo Big6 Best Nine awards during his eight seasons (spring and fall) at Waseda, playing in 96 games and hitting .333 with 11 home runs and 71 RBI for his college career and leading Waseda to a record four consecutive league titles along with the likes of Aoki, Higa and Yoshida. He was one of the most highly touted position players in recent years in the months preceding the 2003 NPB |
He won five Tokyo Big6 Best Nine awards during his eight seasons (spring and fall) at Waseda, playing in 96 games and hitting .333 with 11 home runs and 71 RBI for his college career and leading Waseda to a record four consecutive league titles along with the likes of Aoki, Higa and Yoshida. He was one of the most highly touted position players in recent years in the months preceding the {{ill|2003 NPB draft|jp|2003年度新人選手選択会議 (日本プロ野球)}}<ref>[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sb20040131a1.html "Sasaki clears waivers; Giants not interested"] ''The Japan Times''</ref><ref>[http://www.npbtracker.com/2009/01/player-profile-norichika-aoki "Player Profile: Norichika Aoki"] ''NPB Tracker''</ref> and was said to be a complete [[five-tool player]]. The Hanshin Tigers signed him as a pre-draft pick in early November.<ref>[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sb20031109a2.html "Hanshin acquires Waseda star"] ''The Japan Times''</ref> He was assigned the jersey number '''1'''.<ref name="kikuchi">[https://www.nikkansports.com/baseball/news/1885168.html 阪神鳥谷獲得したスカウトがホレた「野球への姿勢」] [[Nikkan Sports]]、2017年9月9日。</ref> |
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==Professional career== |
==Professional career== |
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⚫ | |||
⚫ | In 2004, amid much hype from both [[Fan (person)|fans]] and members of the media, Toritani was named the Tigers' starting shortstop and [[Batting order (baseball)##7, #8|No. 7 hitter]] in the Tigers' season opener as a [[rookie]] despite the presence of 26-year-old [[Atsushi Fujimoto]], who had hit .301 at the same position the year before. He got the first [[Hit (baseball)|base hit]] of his career off left-hander Yukinaga Maeda in the eighth [[inning]] of the opener against the [[Yomiuri Giants]] on April 2. However, struggling to make contact with the ball on a consistent basis, Toritani was replaced by Fujimoto in the sixth game of the season and saw most of his playing time at [[Third baseman|third base]] until Fujimoto left the team to play for [[Japan national baseball team|Japan]] in the [[Baseball at the 2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Athens Olympics]], hitting his first career home run off then-[[Yokohama BayStars]] [[Right-handedness|right-hander]] [[Kazumasa Azuma]] on May 27 and recording his first career [[stolen base]] against the BayStars on July 19. As luck would have it, Fujimoto struggled with his hitting upon rejoining the Tigers after the Olympic Games, and Toritani got most of the starts at shortstop for the remainder of the season. He hit just .251 with three home runs and 17 RBI in 235 [[At bat|at-bats]], [[Slugging percentage|slugging]] a mere .345 in a disappointing rookie campaign. |
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===2004=== |
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⚫ | In 2004, amid much hype from both [[Fan (person)|fans]] and members of the media, Toritani was named the Tigers' starting shortstop and [[Batting order (baseball)##7,#8|No. 7 hitter]] in the Tigers' season opener as a [[rookie]] despite the presence of 26-year-old [[Atsushi Fujimoto]], who had hit .301 at the same position the year before. He got the first [[Hit (baseball)|base hit]] of his career off left-hander Yukinaga Maeda in the eighth [[inning]] of the opener against the [[Yomiuri Giants]] on April 2. However, struggling to make contact with the ball on a consistent basis, Toritani was replaced by Fujimoto in the sixth game of the season and saw most of his playing time at [[Third baseman|third base]] until Fujimoto left the team to play for [[Japan national baseball team|Japan]] in the [[Baseball at the 2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Athens Olympics]], hitting his first career home run off then-[[Yokohama BayStars]] [[Right-handedness|right-hander]] [[Kazumasa Azuma]] on May 27 and recording his first career [[stolen base]] against the BayStars on July 19. As luck would have it, Fujimoto struggled with his hitting upon rejoining the Tigers after the Olympic Games, and Toritani got most of the starts at shortstop for the remainder of the season. He hit just .251 with three home runs and 17 RBI in 235 [[At bat|at-bats]], [[Slugging percentage|slugging]] a mere .345 in a disappointing rookie campaign. |
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===2005=== |
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In 2005, Fujimoto was permanently moved to [[Second baseman|second base]], and he and Toritani manned the Tigers' [[Infielder#Corner vs. middle infielders|middle infield]] to begin the season.<ref>[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sb20050326a3.html "Dragons favored to book return trip to Japan Series"] ''The Japan Times''</ref> Toritani became the team's [[Batting order (baseball)##2|No. 2 hitter]] after Fujimoto and Kentaro Sekimoto, who had [[Platoon system|platooned]] in the 2-hole, struggled with their hitting. He played in all 146 games, hitting .278 with nine home runs and 52 RBI and even hitting two [[walk-off home run]]s<ref>[http://japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=6&id=351329 "Toritani hits 'sayonara' homer for Tigers"] ''Japan Today''</ref><ref>[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sb20051006j1.html "Toritani earns his stripes as Tigers win in 10th"] ''The Japan Times''</ref> in contributing to the Tigers' league championship.<ref>[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sb20060330j4.html "Yakult looking to get back on top of CL"] ''The Japan Times''</ref> |
In 2005, Fujimoto was permanently moved to [[Second baseman|second base]], and he and Toritani manned the Tigers' [[Infielder#Corner vs. middle infielders|middle infield]] to begin the season.<ref>[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sb20050326a3.html "Dragons favored to book return trip to Japan Series"] ''The Japan Times''</ref> Toritani became the team's [[Batting order (baseball)##2|No. 2 hitter]] after Fujimoto and Kentaro Sekimoto, who had [[Platoon system|platooned]] in the 2-hole, struggled with their hitting. He played in all 146 games, hitting .278 with nine home runs and 52 RBI and even hitting two [[walk-off home run]]s<ref>[http://japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=6&id=351329 "Toritani hits 'sayonara' homer for Tigers"] ''Japan Today''</ref><ref>[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sb20051006j1.html "Toritani earns his stripes as Tigers win in 10th"] ''The Japan Times''</ref> in contributing to the Tigers' league championship.<ref>[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sb20060330j4.html "Yakult looking to get back on top of CL"] ''The Japan Times''</ref> |
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It was reported that he had married his high school sweetheart, who had been a year older than he was and the baseball team's team manager, on December 20 during the [[Season (sports)#Off-season|off-season]].<ref>[http://www.japan-zone.com/news/2006/01/index.shtml "Sports Wedding Rush"] ''Japan Zone''</ref> |
It was reported that he had married his high school sweetheart, who had been a year older than he was and the baseball team's team manager, on December 20 during the [[Season (sports)#Off-season|off-season]].<ref>[http://www.japan-zone.com/news/2006/01/index.shtml "Sports Wedding Rush"] ''Japan Zone''</ref> |
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===2006=== |
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Toritani continued to make strides offensively, hitting .289 with 15 home runs and 58 RBI for the season in 2006. During one stretch from June 1 to 3, he hit a two-[[Run (baseball)|run]] home run to give his team the lead in the first game against the [[Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles]], a solo home run and an RBI [[Double (baseball)|double]] against [[Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks]] ace [[Kazumi Saito]] in the second, and a walk-off hit against Hawks right-hander Yoshiaki Fujioka in the third. He struggled on the [[Defense (sports)|defensive]] end, however, leading all of Japanese professional baseball with 21 errors.<ref>[http://marinerds.blogspot.com/2006/12/npb-roundup-fighters-tigers-and-carp-oh.html "NPB Roundup: Fighters, Tigers, and Carp, oh my!"] ''The Japan Times''</ref> |
Toritani continued to make strides offensively, hitting .289 with 15 home runs and 58 RBI for the season in 2006. During one stretch from June 1 to 3, he hit a two-[[Run (baseball)|run]] home run to give his team the lead in the first game against the [[Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles]], a solo home run and an RBI [[Double (baseball)|double]] against [[Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks]] ace [[Kazumi Saito]] in the second, and a walk-off hit against Hawks right-hander Yoshiaki Fujioka in the third. He struggled on the [[Defense (sports)|defensive]] end, however, leading all of Japanese professional baseball with 21 errors.<ref>[http://marinerds.blogspot.com/2006/12/npb-roundup-fighters-tigers-and-carp-oh.html "NPB Roundup: Fighters, Tigers, and Carp, oh my!"] ''The Japan Times''</ref> |
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His wife gave birth to their first child (a [[Son|boy]]) in September. |
His wife gave birth to their first child (a [[Son|boy]]) in September. |
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===2007=== |
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Toritani replaced center fielder [[Norihiro Akahoshi]] as the team's [[leadoff hitter]] in 2007, but struggled with this new role, hitting .273 with 10 home runs and seeing declines in almost every offensive category. Despite this, he established a new NPB record for consecutive games played without missing an inning with 340 on July 24 in a game against the [[Chunichi Dragons]]. He extended this record to 398, but was taken out of the game early on September 29 to heal an injury he had suffered when hit by a [[Pitch (baseball)|pitch]] several days earlier. Toritani also made headlines when a Japanese [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]] reported that he had invited three women over to his [[hotel]] room while the team was staying in Tokyo during one away game stretch in September. The Tigers organization issued him a warning for his actions. |
Toritani replaced center fielder [[Norihiro Akahoshi]] as the team's [[leadoff hitter]] in 2007, but struggled with this new role, hitting .273 with 10 home runs and seeing declines in almost every offensive category. Despite this, he established a new NPB record for consecutive games played without missing an inning with 340 on July 24 in a game against the [[Chunichi Dragons]]. He extended this record to 398, but was taken out of the game early on September 29 to heal an injury he had suffered when hit by a [[Pitch (baseball)|pitch]] several days earlier. Toritani also made headlines when a Japanese [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]] reported that he had invited three women over to his [[hotel]] room while the team was staying in Tokyo during one away game stretch in September. The Tigers organization issued him a warning for his actions. |
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⚫ | In 2008, Toritani became the Tigers' [[Batting order (baseball)##5, #6|No. 6 hitter]], hitting over .300 for most of the year and even seeing time at the 3- and 5-hole (along with Sekimoto) while [[Batting (baseball)#Types of hitters|slugger]] [[Takahiro Arai]] was recovering from an [[injury]]. He returned to the No. 6 spot after [[Makoto Imaoka]] was promoted to the ''ichigun'' (Japanese equivalent of "major league") level. Toritani was one of only three players in either of the Japanese leagues (along with teammate and [[left fielder]] [[Tomoaki Kanemoto]] and [[Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters]] second baseman Kensuke Tanaka) to play all 144 games without missing an inning. He finished the year with a .281 batting average, 13 home runs and a career-high 80 RBI,<ref>[http://stevesayskanpai.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/hashin-tigers-guide-2009/ "Hashin Tigers Guide 2009!"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091006112305/http://stevesayskanpai.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/hashin-tigers-guide-2009/ |date=October 6, 2009 }} ''Mixed-Up Confusion''</ref><ref>[http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200904030064.html "NPB: Profiles of the Central League teams"] ''The Asahi Shimbun''</ref> winning his first [[Best Nine Award]].<ref>[http://tokyoyakultswallows.wordpress.com/2008/11/21/2008-japan-mvp-and-best-nine/ "2008 Japan MVP and Best Nine"] ''The Tokyo Yakult Swallows''</ref> His wife gave birth to their second child on September 13. |
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===2008=== |
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⚫ | In 2008, Toritani became the Tigers' [[Batting order (baseball)##5,#6|No. 6 hitter]], hitting over .300 for most of the year and even seeing time at the 3- and 5-hole (along with Sekimoto) while [[Batting (baseball)#Types of hitters|slugger]] [[Takahiro Arai]] was recovering from an [[injury]]. He returned to the No. 6 spot after [[Makoto Imaoka]] was promoted to the ''ichigun'' (Japanese equivalent of "major league") level. Toritani was one of only three players in either of the Japanese leagues (along with teammate and [[left fielder]] [[Tomoaki Kanemoto]] and [[Hokkaido Nippon |
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===2009=== |
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For 2009, Toritani was named the Tigers' [[Batting order (baseball)##3|No. 3 hitter]] by newly appointed [[Manager (baseball)|manager]] Akinobu Mayumi, hitting .333 with three home runs and 14 RBI and scoring a league-leading 20 runs in front of [[cleanup hitter]] Kanemoto (who himself hit .379 with eight homers and 30 RBI) in the month of April. |
For 2009, Toritani was named the Tigers' [[Batting order (baseball)##3|No. 3 hitter]] by newly appointed [[Manager (baseball)|manager]] Akinobu Mayumi, hitting .333 with three home runs and 14 RBI and scoring a league-leading 20 runs in front of [[cleanup hitter]] Kanemoto (who himself hit .379 with eight homers and 30 RBI) in the month of April. |
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⚫ | In 2014, Toritani informed Tigers' management of his wish to exercise his free agent right to transfer to [[Major League Baseball]](MLB),<ref>[http://www.nikkansports.com/m/baseball/news/f-bb-tp0-20141031-1389764_m.html Hanshin's Toritani to the Majors: Club Informed of His Intention]</ref> but eventually re-signed with the Tigers. |
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On December 2, 2019, he become free agent.<ref>{{ cite web | url=http://npb.jp/announcement/2019/pn_released.html | title=2019年度 自由契約選手 | work=NPB.jp 日本野球機構 | language=ja | access-date=December 22, 2019 }}</ref> |
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===Chiba Lotte Marines=== |
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On March 10, 2020, Toritani signed with the [[Chiba Lotte Marines]] of the NPB.<ref>{{ cite web | url=https://www.marines.co.jp/news/detail/00005261.html | title=鳥谷敬選手 入団について | work=千葉ロッテマリーンズ オフィシャルサイト | language=ja | date=March 10, 2020 | access-date=March 11, 2020 }}</ref> He was assigned the jersey number '''00'''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://full-count.jp/2020/03/10/post716586/ |title=ロッテが前阪神・鳥谷敬を年俸1600万円で獲得!背番号00…各球団発表、10日去就は?|website=Full-Count |date=2020-03-10 |access-date=2020-03-13 |language=ja}}</ref> |
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On October 31, 2021, he announced his retirement from active duty for the season only.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.marines.co.jp/news/detail/00007263.html |title=11/3(水・祝)鳥谷選手 引退会見 |website=千葉ロッテマリーンズ |date=2021-11-03 |access-date=2021-11-03 |language=ja}}</ref> |
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==Playing style== |
==Playing style== |
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===Hitting=== |
===Hitting=== |
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Toritani |
Toritani was a left-handed [[Glossary of baseball terms#spray hitter|spray hitter]] listed at 5 ft 11 in and 170 lb.<ref>[http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=493155#gameType='R'§ionType=career&statType=1&season=2013&level='ALL' Takashi Toritani] – mlb.com.</ref> He stands upright in the [[batter's box]], employing an exaggerated open stance with his hands held shoulder-high away from his body. Toritani has [[Glossary of baseball terms#power alleys|gap power]] and can hit fairly evenly to all fields; though the majority of his [[extra-base hit]]s were to the opposite field earlier in his career, he has gradually shown an ability to pull the ball for extra bases as well. He was a fast [[Base running|base runner]] (his six [[Triple (baseball)|triples]] in 2008 were the third-most in the league) and rarely makes mistakes on the basepaths, but was generally passive and does not look to steal unless given the [[Glossary of baseball terms#sign|sign]] to do so. |
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===Fielding=== |
===Fielding=== |
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Toritani has good [[Glossary of baseball |
Toritani has good [[Glossary of baseball terms#range|range]] on the defensive end (he set a single-season [[Central League]] record for [[Assist (baseball)|assists]] as a shortstop with 490 in 2006) and one of the strongest throwing arms of any NPB player at his position, routinely making plays from deep in the [[Glossary of baseball terms#5.5 hole|5.5 hole]] (the area between third and short). However, he was somewhat [[Error (baseball)|error]]-prone, particularly on the throwing end of plays.<ref>Neel, Eric. [https://www.espn.com/mlb/asia/columns/story?columnist=neel_eric&id=2766756 "This is only the beginning"] – ESPN</ref> His 15 errors in the 2008 season tied for most among Central League shortstops ([[Yomiuri Giants]] shortstop [[Hayato Sakamoto]] also committed 15). |
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==Career statistics== |
==Career statistics== |
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{| class="wikitable" |
{| class="wikitable" |
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!colspan=" |
!colspan="18" style="background:#ffff00;"|[[Nippon Professional Baseball|<span style="color:black;">Nippon Professional Baseball</span>]] |
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!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="42"|Year |
!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="42"|Year |
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!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="34"|[[Run batted in|RBI]] |
!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="34"|[[Run batted in|RBI]] |
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!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="28"|[[Stolen base|SB]] |
!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="28"|[[Stolen base|SB]] |
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!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="42"|[[Batting average|AVG]] |
!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="42"|[[Batting average (baseball)|AVG]] |
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!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="42"|[[On-base percentage|OBP]] |
!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="42"|[[On-base percentage|OBP]] |
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!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="42"|[[Slugging percentage|SLG]] |
!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="42"|[[Slugging percentage|SLG]] |
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!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="46"|[[On-base plus slugging|OPS]] |
!style="background:#ebebe4;" width="46"|[[On-base plus slugging|OPS]] |
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|-align=center |
|-align=center |
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|{{npby|2004}} || 22 ||rowspan= |
|{{npby|2004}} || 22 || rowspan="16" |[[Hanshin Tigers|Hanshin]]|| 101 || 235 || 28 || 59 || 13 || 0 || 3 || 81 || 17 || 2 || .251 || .320 || .345 || .665 |
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|-align=center |
|-align=center |
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|{{npby|2005}} || 23 || '''146''' || 572 || 82 || 159 || 27 || 1 || 9 || 215 || 52 || 5 || .278 || .343 || .376 || .719 |
|{{npby|2005}} || 23 || '''146''' || 572 || 82 || 159 || 27 || 1 || 9 || 215 || 52 || 5 || .278 || .343 || .376 || .719 |
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|-align=center |
|-align=center |
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|{{npby|2015}} || 33 || '''143''' || 551 || 69 || 155 || 21 || 4 || 6 || 202 || 42 || 9 || .281 || .380 || .367 || .747 |
|{{npby|2015}} || 33 || '''143''' || 551 || 69 || 155 || 21 || 4 || 6 || 202 || 42 || 9 || .281 || .380 || .367 || .747 |
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|-align=center |
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|{{npby|2016}} || 34 || '''143''' || 449 || 49 || 106 || 16 || 1 || 7 || 145 || 36 || 13 || .236 || .344 || .323 || .667 |
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|-align=center |
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|{{npby|2017}} || 35 |
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| |'''143''' || 488 || 57 || 143 || 23 || 3 || 4 || 184 || 41 || 8 || .293 || .390 || .377 || .767 |
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|-align=center |
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|{{npby|2018}}|| 36 || 121 || 220 || 15 ||| 51 || 11 ||| 0 || 1 || 65|| 22 || 1 || .232 || .333 || .295 || .629 |
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|-align=center |
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|{{npby|2019}}|| 37 || 74 || 92 || 9 ||| 19 || 3 ||| 1 || 0 || 24|| 4 || 1 || .207 || .298 || .261 || .559 |
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|-align=center |
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|{{npby|2020}}|| 38 || rowspan="2" |[[Chiba Lotte Marines|Lotte]]|| 42 || 36 || 5 ||| 5 || 2 ||| 0 || 0 || 7|| 6 || 0 || .139 || .205 || .194 || .400 |
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|-align=center |
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|{{npby|2021}}|| 39 || 32 || 53 || 7 ||| 9 || 3 ||| 0 || 0 || 12|| 2 || 0 || .170 || .279 || .226 || .505 |
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|-align=center |
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⚫ | |||
| style="background:#000000;color:white;" |'''Career''' |
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|- |
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'''''Bold''' indicates league leader; statistics current as of |
'''''Bold''' indicates league leader; statistics current as of 2019'' |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{Baseballstats|brm=torita001tak}} |
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* [http://npb.jp/bis/eng/players/21925119.html NPB.com] |
* [http://npb.jp/bis/eng/players/21925119.html NPB.com] |
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*[http://japaneseballplayers.com/en/player.php?id=ttoritani Japanese stats and info of Takashi Toritani] |
*[http://japaneseballplayers.com/en/player.php?id=ttoritani Japanese stats and info of Takashi Toritani] |
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{{Japan 2013 World Baseball Classic |
{{Japan roster 2013 World Baseball Classic}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Toritani, Takashi}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toritani, Takashi}} |
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[[Category:1981 births]] |
[[Category:1981 births]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Baseball people from Tokyo]] |
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[[Category:Hanshin Tigers players]] |
[[Category:Hanshin Tigers players]] |
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[[Category:Chiba Lotte Marines players]] |
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[[Category:Japanese baseball players]] |
[[Category:Japanese baseball players]] |
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[[Category:Nippon Professional Baseball shortstops]] |
[[Category:Nippon Professional Baseball shortstops]] |
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[[Category:Waseda University alumni]] |
[[Category:Waseda University alumni]] |
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[[Category:2013 World Baseball Classic players]] |
[[Category:2013 World Baseball Classic players]] |
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[[Category:World Baseball Classic players of Japan]] |
Latest revision as of 02:10, 14 October 2024
Takashi Toritani | |
---|---|
Shortstop | |
Born: Higashimurayama, Tokyo, Japan | June 26, 1981|
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
NPB debut | |
April 2, 2004, for the Hanshin Tigers | |
Last NPB appearance | |
June 6, 2021, for the Chiba Lotte Marines | |
NPB statistics (through 2021 season) | |
Batting average | .278 |
Hits | 2,099 |
Home runs | 138 |
Runs batted in | 830 |
Sacrifice bunt | 54 |
Stolen base | 131 |
Teams | |
As player
As coach | |
Career highlights and awards | |
Takashi Toritani (鳥谷 敬, Toritani Takashi, born June 26, 1981) is a Japanese former professional baseball player, baseball commentator, baseball critic, coach.
Toritani was one of the most highly coveted position players in years as a senior for Waseda University in 2003. He holds the current NPB record for most consecutive games played without missing an inning as a shortstop, and appeared in every Tigers game for over 13 years from 2005 to May 27, 2018 (1,939 regular season games).
Early life
[edit]Toritani was born in Higashimurayama, Tokyo, the eldest of three brothers. He played for the Higashimurayama Junior Mets, Ozakudai Little League Club in his elementary school days in Higashimurayama and Hamura, and Mizuho Senior in his junior high school days in Hamura.
He played both shortstop and pitcher at Seibō Gakuen Senior High School in Saitama. He played in the 81st National High School Baseball Championship in 1999, coming on in relief in Seibō Gakuen's first game against Hita-Rinkō High School (the Ōita champions) and clocking 143 km/h (89 mph), but his team lost 5–3.
College career
[edit]Toritani went on to enroll at Waseda University as a human sciences major. There, he was surrounded by an impressive collection of talent: his year included then-right fielder Norichika Aoki (Tokyo Yakult Swallows), third baseman Toshimitsu Higa (Hiroshima Carp) and center fielder Shintaro Yoshida (Orix Buffaloes), all three of whom would later go on to the pros.[1][2] Left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks) was in the year above him, and second baseman Hiroyasu Tanaka (BayStars) and first baseman Shinichi Takeuchi (Swallows) would join the team one and two years later, respectively.
In the spring of 2001, then-sophomore Toritani led the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League in all three Triple Crown categories (batting average, home runs, runs batted in), tying current Saitama Seibu Lions third baseman Taketoshi Gotoh as the fastest player (by academic year) to win Triple Crown honors in the history of the league. Toritani drew 19 combined walks and hit-batters in the spring 2003 season as a senior, a Tokyo Big6 record (later broken by then-Rikkyo University outfielder Yuichi Tabata in 2004). He won his second batting title that fall.
He won five Tokyo Big6 Best Nine awards during his eight seasons (spring and fall) at Waseda, playing in 96 games and hitting .333 with 11 home runs and 71 RBI for his college career and leading Waseda to a record four consecutive league titles along with the likes of Aoki, Higa and Yoshida. He was one of the most highly touted position players in recent years in the months preceding the 2003 NPB draft[3][4] and was said to be a complete five-tool player. The Hanshin Tigers signed him as a pre-draft pick in early November.[5] He was assigned the jersey number 1.[6]
Professional career
[edit]Hanshin Tigers
[edit]In 2004, amid much hype from both fans and members of the media, Toritani was named the Tigers' starting shortstop and No. 7 hitter in the Tigers' season opener as a rookie despite the presence of 26-year-old Atsushi Fujimoto, who had hit .301 at the same position the year before. He got the first base hit of his career off left-hander Yukinaga Maeda in the eighth inning of the opener against the Yomiuri Giants on April 2. However, struggling to make contact with the ball on a consistent basis, Toritani was replaced by Fujimoto in the sixth game of the season and saw most of his playing time at third base until Fujimoto left the team to play for Japan in the 2004 Athens Olympics, hitting his first career home run off then-Yokohama BayStars right-hander Kazumasa Azuma on May 27 and recording his first career stolen base against the BayStars on July 19. As luck would have it, Fujimoto struggled with his hitting upon rejoining the Tigers after the Olympic Games, and Toritani got most of the starts at shortstop for the remainder of the season. He hit just .251 with three home runs and 17 RBI in 235 at-bats, slugging a mere .345 in a disappointing rookie campaign.
In 2005, Fujimoto was permanently moved to second base, and he and Toritani manned the Tigers' middle infield to begin the season.[7] Toritani became the team's No. 2 hitter after Fujimoto and Kentaro Sekimoto, who had platooned in the 2-hole, struggled with their hitting. He played in all 146 games, hitting .278 with nine home runs and 52 RBI and even hitting two walk-off home runs[8][9] in contributing to the Tigers' league championship.[10]
It was reported that he had married his high school sweetheart, who had been a year older than he was and the baseball team's team manager, on December 20 during the off-season.[11]
Toritani continued to make strides offensively, hitting .289 with 15 home runs and 58 RBI for the season in 2006. During one stretch from June 1 to 3, he hit a two-run home run to give his team the lead in the first game against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, a solo home run and an RBI double against Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks ace Kazumi Saito in the second, and a walk-off hit against Hawks right-hander Yoshiaki Fujioka in the third. He struggled on the defensive end, however, leading all of Japanese professional baseball with 21 errors.[12]
His wife gave birth to their first child (a boy) in September.
Toritani replaced center fielder Norihiro Akahoshi as the team's leadoff hitter in 2007, but struggled with this new role, hitting .273 with 10 home runs and seeing declines in almost every offensive category. Despite this, he established a new NPB record for consecutive games played without missing an inning with 340 on July 24 in a game against the Chunichi Dragons. He extended this record to 398, but was taken out of the game early on September 29 to heal an injury he had suffered when hit by a pitch several days earlier. Toritani also made headlines when a Japanese tabloid reported that he had invited three women over to his hotel room while the team was staying in Tokyo during one away game stretch in September. The Tigers organization issued him a warning for his actions.
In 2008, Toritani became the Tigers' No. 6 hitter, hitting over .300 for most of the year and even seeing time at the 3- and 5-hole (along with Sekimoto) while slugger Takahiro Arai was recovering from an injury. He returned to the No. 6 spot after Makoto Imaoka was promoted to the ichigun (Japanese equivalent of "major league") level. Toritani was one of only three players in either of the Japanese leagues (along with teammate and left fielder Tomoaki Kanemoto and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters second baseman Kensuke Tanaka) to play all 144 games without missing an inning. He finished the year with a .281 batting average, 13 home runs and a career-high 80 RBI,[13][14] winning his first Best Nine Award.[15] His wife gave birth to their second child on September 13.
For 2009, Toritani was named the Tigers' No. 3 hitter by newly appointed manager Akinobu Mayumi, hitting .333 with three home runs and 14 RBI and scoring a league-leading 20 runs in front of cleanup hitter Kanemoto (who himself hit .379 with eight homers and 30 RBI) in the month of April.
In 2014, Toritani informed Tigers' management of his wish to exercise his free agent right to transfer to Major League Baseball(MLB),[16] but eventually re-signed with the Tigers.
On December 2, 2019, he become free agent.[17]
Chiba Lotte Marines
[edit]On March 10, 2020, Toritani signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the NPB.[18] He was assigned the jersey number 00.[19]
On October 31, 2021, he announced his retirement from active duty for the season only.[20]
Playing style
[edit]Hitting
[edit]Toritani was a left-handed spray hitter listed at 5 ft 11 in and 170 lb.[21] He stands upright in the batter's box, employing an exaggerated open stance with his hands held shoulder-high away from his body. Toritani has gap power and can hit fairly evenly to all fields; though the majority of his extra-base hits were to the opposite field earlier in his career, he has gradually shown an ability to pull the ball for extra bases as well. He was a fast base runner (his six triples in 2008 were the third-most in the league) and rarely makes mistakes on the basepaths, but was generally passive and does not look to steal unless given the sign to do so.
Fielding
[edit]Toritani has good range on the defensive end (he set a single-season Central League record for assists as a shortstop with 490 in 2006) and one of the strongest throwing arms of any NPB player at his position, routinely making plays from deep in the 5.5 hole (the area between third and short). However, he was somewhat error-prone, particularly on the throwing end of plays.[22] His 15 errors in the 2008 season tied for most among Central League shortstops (Yomiuri Giants shortstop Hayato Sakamoto also committed 15).
Career statistics
[edit]Nippon Professional Baseball | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | TB | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
2004 | 22 | Hanshin | 101 | 235 | 28 | 59 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 81 | 17 | 2 | .251 | .320 | .345 | .665 | |
2005 | 23 | 146 | 572 | 82 | 159 | 27 | 1 | 9 | 215 | 52 | 5 | .278 | .343 | .376 | .719 | ||
2006 | 24 | 146 | 543 | 65 | 157 | 28 | 2 | 15 | 234 | 58 | 5 | .289 | .362 | .431 | .793 | ||
2007 | 25 | 144 | 565 | 67 | 154 | 19 | 4 | 10 | 211 | 43 | 7 | .273 | .350 | .373 | .724 | ||
2008 | 26 | 144 | 523 | 66 | 147 | 17 | 6 | 13 | 215 | 80 | 4 | .281 | .365 | .411 | .776 | ||
2009 | 27 | 144 | 538 | 84 | 155 | 31 | 2 | 20 | 250 | 75 | 7 | .288 | .368 | .465 | .819 | ||
2010 | 28 | 144 | 575 | 98 | 173 | 31 | 6 | 19 | 273 | 104 | 13 | .301 | .373 | .475 | .848 | ||
2011 | 29 | 144 | 500 | 71 | 150 | 28 | 7 | 5 | 207 | 51 | 16 | .300 | .395 | .414 | .809 | ||
2012 | 30 | 144 | 515 | 62 | 135 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 193 | 59 | 15 | .262 | .373 | .375 | .748 | ||
2013 | 31 | 144 | 532 | 74 | 150 | 30 | 4 | 10 | 218 | 65 | 15 | .282 | .402 | .410 | .812 | ||
2014 | 32 | 144 | 550 | 96 | 172 | 28 | 2 | 8 | 228 | 73 | 10 | .313 | .406 | .415 | .820 | ||
2015 | 33 | 143 | 551 | 69 | 155 | 21 | 4 | 6 | 202 | 42 | 9 | .281 | .380 | .367 | .747 | ||
2016 | 34 | 143 | 449 | 49 | 106 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 145 | 36 | 13 | .236 | .344 | .323 | .667 | ||
2017 | 35 | 143 | 488 | 57 | 143 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 184 | 41 | 8 | .293 | .390 | .377 | .767 | ||
2018 | 36 | 121 | 220 | 15 | 51 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 65 | 22 | 1 | .232 | .333 | .295 | .629 | ||
2019 | 37 | 74 | 92 | 9 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 4 | 1 | .207 | .298 | .261 | .559 | ||
2020 | 38 | Lotte | 42 | 36 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | .139 | .205 | .194 | .400 | |
2021 | 39 | 32 | 53 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 0 | .170 | .279 | .226 | .505 | ||
Career | 2243 | 8747 | 1004 | 2099 | 353 | 49 | 138 | 2964 | 830 | 131 | .278 | .368 | .393 | .762 |
Bold indicates league leader; statistics current as of 2019
References
[edit]- ^ "Future Shock: Hawaiian Winter Baseball Preview" Baseball Prospectus
- ^ "Japanese Baseball News: Giants Get What They Want in Draft; Arias Out, Kinkade In?" Baseball Guru
- ^ "Sasaki clears waivers; Giants not interested" The Japan Times
- ^ "Player Profile: Norichika Aoki" NPB Tracker
- ^ "Hanshin acquires Waseda star" The Japan Times
- ^ 阪神鳥谷獲得したスカウトがホレた「野球への姿勢」 Nikkan Sports、2017年9月9日。
- ^ "Dragons favored to book return trip to Japan Series" The Japan Times
- ^ "Toritani hits 'sayonara' homer for Tigers" Japan Today
- ^ "Toritani earns his stripes as Tigers win in 10th" The Japan Times
- ^ "Yakult looking to get back on top of CL" The Japan Times
- ^ "Sports Wedding Rush" Japan Zone
- ^ "NPB Roundup: Fighters, Tigers, and Carp, oh my!" The Japan Times
- ^ "Hashin Tigers Guide 2009!" Archived October 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Mixed-Up Confusion
- ^ "NPB: Profiles of the Central League teams" The Asahi Shimbun
- ^ "2008 Japan MVP and Best Nine" The Tokyo Yakult Swallows
- ^ Hanshin's Toritani to the Majors: Club Informed of His Intention
- ^ "2019年度 自由契約選手". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved December 22, 2019.
- ^ "鳥谷敬選手 入団について". 千葉ロッテマリーンズ オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- ^ "ロッテが前阪神・鳥谷敬を年俸1600万円で獲得!背番号00…各球団発表、10日去就は?". Full-Count (in Japanese). March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
- ^ "11/3(水・祝)鳥谷選手 引退会見". 千葉ロッテマリーンズ (in Japanese). November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ Takashi Toritani – mlb.com.
- ^ Neel, Eric. "This is only the beginning" – ESPN
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)
- NPB.com
- Japanese stats and info of Takashi Toritani