Nobuhiko Matsunaka
Matsunaka with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Chunichi Dragons – No. 89
Left fielder/Designated hitter/Coach
Born: (1973-12-26)December 26, 1973 (age 51) Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan
Batted: Left Threw: Left
NPB debut
May 31, 1997, for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
Last NPB appearance
October 1, 2015, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
NPB statistics (through 2015)
Batting average	.296
Hits	1767
Home runs	352
RBI	1168
Teams
As player Fukuoka Daiei Hawks/Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (1997–2015) As coach Kagawa Olive Guyners (2022) Chunichi Dragons (2025–Present)
Career highlights and awards
2×Pacific League MVP (2000,2004) JapaneseTriple Crown (2004) 5×Best Nine Award winner (2000,2003–2006) 2004 Golden Glove Award winner 8× NPBAll-Star (1999–2001, 2003–2005,2007–2008)
Medals Representing Japan Men'sBaseball Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Team Asian Baseball Championship 1999 Seoul Team World Baseball Classic 2006 San Diego Team Intercontinental Cup 1995 Havana Team

Nobuhiko Matsunaka (松中 信彦,Matsunaka Nobuhiko, born December 26, 1973 inYatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan) is a formerleft fielder anddesignated hitter for theFukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He is currently the hitting coach for theChunichi Dragons in Japan'sNippon Professional Baseball league.

He played in the1996 Atlanta and2000 SydneyOlympics^[1] as well as the2006 World Baseball Classic, hittingcleanup in1996 and2006.

Matsunaka was born inYatsushiro, Kumamoto, and attended the local Yatsushiro First High School (currently Shugakukan High School). He joinedNippon Steel Corporation Kimitsu Works, a team in the Japanese industrial leagues, upon graduatinghigh school in1991.

In 1996, 22-year-old Matsunaka, then still afirst baseman for Nippon Steel-Kimitsu, gathered national attention when he hit a game-tyinggrand slam in thefinals of the1996 Atlanta Olympics againstCuba as a member of theJapanese national team. He was picked in the second round of the 1996amateur draft by theFukuoka Daiei Hawks.

Matsunaka made his debut at theichigun (Japanese equivalent of "major league") level in1997, hisrookie season, as the starting first baseman andNo. 7 hitter in aregular season game against theSeibu Lions on May 31. His firsthome run came more than a year later against Lionsright-handerFumiya Nishiguchi on September 51998.

Matsunaka became the Hawks' starting first baseman in1999 with the departure ofLuis Lopez, hitting .268 with 23 home runs and 71RBI and leading them to their first championship in 35 years as they won the league title as well as that year'sJapan Series in five games over theChunichi Dragons. His 23 homers were second to onlyHiroki Kokubo on the Hawks.

Matsunaka had a breakout year in2000, hitting .312 with 33 homers and 106 RBI and winning thePacific LeagueMost Valuable Player award for the first time in his career.^[2] However, while the Hawks won the league title and reached theJapan Series for the second straight year, they blew a commanding 2-0 lead to theYomiuri Giants and lost in six games. Matsunaka was a factor in this loss, going just 1-for-20 with one home run in the series.

Matsunaka put up his second consecutive .300-30-100 season the following season2001, hitting .334 with 36 home runs and 122 RBI. The Hawks had a particularly potentlineup that year, with Matsunaka, Kokubo (44), catcherKenji Johjima (31), and second basemanTadahito Iguchi (30) all hitting 30 or more home runs.^[3] It marked the first time four players on the same team had ever hit 30 or more homers in the Pacific League, and the four were dubbed the "30-Homer Quartet". However, while the Hawks broke a franchise record by hitting 203 home runs as a team, they finished second to theOsaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in the pennant race, missing their third straight league title.

Matsunaka struggled to adjust to the newstrike zone that the NPB had decided to implement in the2002 season, hitting a career-low .260 with 28 home runs. He hit his 100th career home run on May 3 offleft-handerItsuki Shoda in a game against theNippon Ham Fighters.

In2003, Matsunaka bounced back from a disappointing previous year and hit .324 with 30 home runs and 123 RBI in the regular season,^[4] overtaking his teammate Johjima in RBI in the last game of the season to lead the league in that category for the first time. He led the Hawks to another pennant win and their firstJapan Series championship in four years over theHanshin Tigers. Despite the absence of Kokubo, their longtimecleanup hitter, the Hawks collectively hit .297 (the highest teambatting average in NPB history), with four hitters putting up 100 or more RBI (the "100-RBI Quartet").

The2004 season was the finest of Matsunaka's eight-yearprofessional career. He hit .358 with 44 home runs^[5] and 120 RBI, becoming the first player in Japanese professional baseball sinceHiromitsu Ochiai (then of theLotte Orions) in1986 to lead the league in batting average, home runs and RBI in the same season (he was tied withFernando Seguignol in home runs) and thus win Triple Crown honors.^[6][7] Making the feat even more impressive was that Matsunaka also led the league inhits,on-base percentage,runs scored andtotal bases, becoming just the second player in NPB history to lead the league in the aforementioned seven categories.

Following the season, Matsunaka was rewarded with the second MVP award of his career as well as theBest Nine and Golden Glove awards. However, while he led his team to theplayoffs, the Hawks fell in five games to the Lions due in large part to an abysmal showing by Matsunaka, who went just 2-for-16 in five games in the series.

In2005, the following year, Matsunaka became the Hawks' everydaydesignated hitter due to recurring problems with hisknees. He hit his 200th career home run againstChiba Lotte MarinessubmarinerShunsuke Watanabe on April 17 and finished the year with a .315 batting average, 46 home runs and 121 RBI, leading the league in home runs and RBI for the second straight season and becoming the first hitter in NPB history to record more than 120 RBI in three straight seasons.^[8] However, the Hawks suffered yet another early playoff exit, this time falling in five games to the Marines. Again, Matsunaka faced most of the blame for the loss, hitting just 1-for-19 in the series.

He signed a seven-year contract with the Hawks in the 2005off-season, virtually ensuring that he would finish his career with the team.^[9]

Coming off a triumphant victory in the inauguralWorld Baseball Classic, Matsunaka hit .324 during the 2006 regular season and won his secondbatting title that year,^[10] but his power fell substantially as he managed to hit only 19 home runs with 76 RBI. It was during this season that he began to see significant playing time in theoutfield, frequently seeing starts atleft field from interleague play onwards. The Hawks finished third in the regular season, defeating the Lions in the first round of the playoffs but ultimately being swept by theHokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in the second round (though Matsunaka went 7-for-18 with 7 RBI in the postseason). Despite his less impressive numbers, Matsunaka received his fourth consecutive (and fifth overall)Best Nine Award as anoutfielder, making him only the third player after Akinobu Mayumi and Ochiai to receive the award at three different positions (he had won three as a first baseman and one as a designated hitter).

The2007 season proved to be a disappointing one for Matsunaka. Despite the high expectations placed upon the new trio of Matsunaka, Kokubo (who had returned to the Hawks after a stint with the Giants viafree agency) and newly acquiredHitoshi Tamura that would comprise the middle of the order, all three missed significant playing time due toinjuries. Matsunaka put up his worst numbers since 2002, hitting just .266 with 15 home runs and 68 RBI.

Coming off of a rigorous off-season lower bodytraining regimen, Matsunaka rebounded in2008, hitting his 300th career home run against young LionsaceHideaki Wakui on August 29 and playing all 144 games while batting .290 with 25 home runs and driving in 92 runs.^[11] However, his personal accomplishments were offset by the Hawks' collapse in the second half of the season, a free-fall which culminated in a loss to theTohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in the last game of the regular season that brought their first last-place finish since the 1996 season.^[12]

Matsunaka was officially listed as an outfielder from the2009 season onwards. He recorded his 1000th career RBI in the season opener against theOrix Buffaloes on April 3 and became only the 11th player in NPB history to record 100 careerhit-batters on April 21 against the Fighters, hitting a pair of two-run homers in the same game.^[13] He got the 1500th hit of his career on May 6 against the Buffaloes, becoming the 100th player in NPB history to accomplish the feat.

Matsunaka is a two-time Olympian, representing Japan in both the1996 Atlanta and2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He played an instrumental role in Japan'ssilver medal finish in 1996,^[14] hitting five home runs and 16 RBI in the tournament^[15] (his game-tying grand slam in thefinals againstCuba was arguably his most noteworthy moment, even though Japan eventually lost the match 9-13).

Matsunaka became one of the first baseball players to ever participate in theOlympic Games as a pro when he was chosen to the national team for the 2000 Sydney Olympics,^[16] but Japan was defeated bySouth Korea in thebronze medal match and came up empty in their run for a medal.

In 2006, Matsunaka was chosen to the national team for the third time, playing in the inauguralWorld Baseball Classic as Japan's startingleft fielder and cleanup hitter.^[17] He hit .433 in eight games, albeit with no home runs,^[18] and was instrumental in leading Japan to the inaugural title.

Matsunaka is a burly 183 cm (6 ft), 97 kg (214 lb)power hitter^[19][20] who currently hits in either the 3-hole or the cleanup spot in the Hawks' lineup. It is often said thatballs Matsunaka pulls are less likely togo foul because of his ability to stay inside thepitch, a testament to how adept he is in turning oninside pitches. He alsostrikes out very infrequently compared to other so-called power hitters. He struck out just 85 times when he hit 46 home runs (his career high) in 2005, 67 times when he hit 44 homers in 2004 and 77 times when he hit 36 homers in 2001, neverwhiffing more than 91 times in a single season.

Matsunaka has never been regarded as a particularly goodfielder. Though he won the Pacific League Golden Glove award at first base in 2004, many thought that he was chosen over other candidates with better defensive reputations, such as Marines first baseman and three-time Golden Glove winner Kazuya Fukuura, largely on merit of his offensive production (Matsunaka led the league in all three Triple Crown categories that year).

Matsunaka began to see substantial time inleft field in interleague play during the 2006 season. While he displayed limited range in the outfield, his throws were usually fairly accurate despite his weak throwing arm. He has since seen an increasing number of starts as the team's designated hitter due to a history ofshoulder- andelbow-related injuries.^[21]

Bold indicates league leader; statistics current as of Jan 2015

• Nippon Professional Baseball career statistics fromJapaneseBaseball.com
• Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – Nobuhiko Matsunaka Official Website (Japanese)
• Matsunaka Nobuhiko Sports Museum (Japanese)

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