Tomoaki Kanemoto
Kanemoto with the Hanshin Tigers in 2008
Left fielder / Manager
Born: (1968-04-03)April 3, 1968 (age 57) Minami-ku, Hiroshima, Japan
Batted: Left Threw: Right
NPB debut
June 2, 1992, for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Last appearance
October 9, 2012, for the Hanshin Tigers
NPB statistics
Batting average	.285
Hits	2539
Home runs	476
RBI	1521
Teams
As player Hiroshima Toyo Carp (1992–2002) Hanshin Tigers (2003–2012) As manager Hanshin Tigers (2016–2018)
Career highlights and awards
Central League MVP (2005) 7×Best Nine Award winner (1995, 2000–2001,2004–2006,2008) 10×NPB All-Star (1995–1997, 2000–2001,2003–2006, 2008) 2× NPB All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (1996: Game 3, 2003: Game 2)
Member of the Japanese
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	2018
Last updated on: January 16, 2018

Tomoaki Kanemoto (金本 知憲,Kanemoto Tomoaki; born April 3, 1968) is a Japanese formerprofessional baseballoutfielder and manager. In his career as a player he spent 11 years with theHiroshima Carp before moving to theHanshin Tigers in 2003, where he spent another 10 years. He holds the world record for consecutive games played without missing aninning (1492, ending on April 18,2010) and consecutive innings (13686, ending on 9th inning on April 17).

The Tigers' formercleanup hitter, Kanemoto is regarded as one of the most accomplishedhitters in Japanese professional baseball history. His 476 careerhome runs are the most by a left-handed hitter who throwsright-handed and tenth overall on theall-time NPB list. Kanemoto retired as a player at the end of the 2012 season^[1] and rejoined the Tigers as their manager for the 2016 season, replacingYutaka Wada.^[2] At the time of his retirement, Kanemoto was ninth on the all-time hit list for Japanese players across Japan and MLB. He is now 10th on the all-time list in both hits and home runs.

Kanemoto was born inMinami-ku, Hiroshima, as a third-generationKorean who received his Japanese citizenship in 2001. He began playing baseball in thefourth grade for the Hiroshima Central Little League club, but quit the team after a year because he could not keep up during team practices. After playing both baseball and softball for various teams while attendingjunior high, Kanemoto enrolled in Koryo High School,^[3] where he became the team's cleanup hitter in his second year (the equivalent ofeleventh grade in the United States) and played in theoutfield as well as atthird base andpitcher. Although Koryo High had a reputation as a baseball powerhouse, they failed to reach anynational tournaments in Kanemoto's three years there. He hit 20 home runs during his high school career.

Kanemoto earned a spot in thestarting lineup in hisfirst year at Tohoku Fukushi University. His team, which consisted of notable players like pitchersKazuhiro Sasaki andTakashi Saito,catcherAkihiro Yano, outfielder Koji Otsuka andshortstop/second baseman Chihiro Hamana, all of whom would later go on to thepros, earned berths in four consecutive All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series. (Kanemoto and Yano work together on the Tigers bench today.) Though they lost in the third round againstKinki University in the 38th annual tournament in 1989 (Kanemoto'ssophomore year), they were therunners-up in the 37th and 39th tournaments (in 1988 and 1990, respectively), and won their first national title in the 40th annual tournament in 1991, Kanemoto'ssenior year.

Following the tournament, Kanemoto was chosen to play in the 20th U.S.–Japan Collegiate All-Star Baseball Games, sharing a room with then-Toyo University outfielderShinjiro Hiyama, whom he would also later become teammates with upon joining the Tigers, during the series. Kanemoto was picked in the fourth round of the 1991 NPBdraft by theHiroshima Toyo Carp.^[4]

Kanemoto showed little promise in his first two seasons in the pros, falling behind as younger hitters likeTomonori Maeda and Akira Etoh began to make names for themselves at theichigun (Japanese equivalent of "major league") level. He showed so little power thathitting coaches would tell him to try to slap the ball and use his speed toget on base more and earned the rather unflattering nickname "Mole Killer" for his habit of throwing the ball into the ground when trying to make a strong throw on thedefensive end.

Frustrated by his shortcomings and realizing that he would be soon released from the team if he did not improve dramatically, Kanemoto began a rigorousweight training regimen and, with the help of then-coach Kazuyoshi Yamamoto, made his way into the starting lineup in the later half of the 1994 season, hitting 17 home runs that year. He continued to make strides with his bat in 1995, hitting .274 with 24 home runs (including his first careergrand slam off then-Tigers left-hander Toshiro Yufune on August 10) and earning his firstBest Nine Award.

Kanemoto hit over .300 for the first time in his career in 1996 as the Carp'sNo. 5 hitter, winning theCentral League monthlyMost Valuable Player award that September and hitting the firstwalk-off home run of his career off then-Swallowsreliever Hiroto Kato on September 11. He added a career-high 33 home runs to the .300-plus average and drove in 82RBI in 1997, but struggled in 1998, hitting just .253 with 21 homers and 74 RBI. However, he rebounded from the down year by hitting .293 with 34 home runs and 94 RBIs (both career highs) in 1999, playing in all 136 games andhitting for the cycle on April 24 against theChunichi Dragons.

In 2000, Kanemoto was made the team's cleanup hitter by default after Etoh's departure for theYomiuri Giants viafree agency, and he responded by hitting .315 with 30 home runs and a career-high 30stolen bases, becoming just the seventh player in NPB history to have a .300–30–30 (batting average, home runs, stolen bases) season.^[5] The following season (2001), he set a new Japanese professional baseball record by going 1002 consecutiveplate appearances withoutgrounding into adouble play and drew 128walks, the fifth-highest single-season total in NPB history and the most by any player other thanSadaharu Oh.

Kanemoto declared for free agency in the 2002off-season. Despite recognizing that Kanemoto was an invaluable asset to the team, the low-budget Carp upheld their longtime policy of not pursuing any player of their own that opts to declare for free agency (an attempt by the Carp to hold down theirpayroll). After weeks of negotiations, Kanemoto eventually signed with the Central League rivalHanshin Tigers.^[6]

For the2003 season, Kanemoto was given theuniform number6 and appointed the Tigers' newNo. 3 hitter amidst hopes that he would change the very culture of the Tigers organization, a perennial cellar-dweller that had finished last in the Central League four times in the last five years.^[7] He committed himself to his new secondary role in thelineup, hitting just .289 with 19 home runs and 18 stolen bases but focusing on movingrunners over and takingpitches so that teammate and fellow outfielderNorihiro Akahoshi could steal (he led the league with 61 stolen bases that year). Kanemoto played an integral role in leading the Tigers to their first league title in 18 years.^[8] In theJapan Series that followed the regular season, he hit four home runs,^[9] homering in three consecutive games and twice in one game^[10] (all three tying the previous Japan Series record). However, the Tigers lost to the Hawks four games to three, failing to win the championship.

In2004, Kanemoto returned to the cleanup spot following the appointment of newmanagerAkinobu Okada. He hit the fourth walk-off home run of his career off then-DragonsaceKenshin Kawakami on May 8 in a classic 1–0pitchers' duel.^[11] However, he washit by a pitch by DragonscloserHitoki Iwase on July 29, tearing thecartilage on his left wrist. While his streak of consecutive games played without missing an inning was thought to be in jeopardy, Kanemoto borrowed a lighter bat from teammate Teruyoshi Kuji and continued to play through the injury, setting a new Nippon Professional Baseball record of 701 on August 1.^[12] Despite such adversity, he put up some of his best numbers to date, hitting .317 with 34 home runs and a career-high 113 RBIs and leading the league in RBIs for the first time.

Kanemoto began the2005 season well, hitting .291 in the month of April and following it up by hitting .404 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in May, earning his second career monthly MVP award. His walk-off home run (the fifth such home run of his career) offrelieverYusaku Iriki in an interleague game against theHokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters on June 10^[13] made him just the fourth player in NPB history to hit a home run against every team in both the Central andPacific leagues. His home run on June 28 atYonago Municipal Baseball Stadium gave him the distinction of having hit home runs in the most ballparks (32) of any active NPB player (Kazuhiro Yamauchi holds the all-time record with 39).

Kanemoto reached several notable milestones this year, playing in 1000 consecutive games on August 11 against the Dragons, recording his 1000thrun scored on August 25 and his 1000th RBI on September 9 (both against the Carp). He also hit his 40th home run of the season on October 4, becoming the first Tigers player sinceRandy Bass in 1986 to hit 40 home runs in a season and the first since the "Lucky Zone", the short porch inright field, was removed fromKoshien Stadium. Kanemoto finished the year with career highs in everyTriple Crown category, hitting .327 with 40 homers and 125 RBIs and leading the league in runs scored (120), total bases (344),slugging percentage (.615) andOPS (1.044) at the age of 37. He led the Tigers to another league titles and was voted the Central League Most Valuable Player for the first time in his career.^[14][15]

Kanemoto broke the world record held byCal Ripken Jr. for consecutive innings played of 8243 on March 312006, and set a new world record for consecutive games played without missing an inning with904 on April 9 in a game against theYokohama BayStars (the previous record was also held by Ripken).^[16][17] He reached his milestone 1000th consecutive game played without missing an inning on August 15 against the BayStars, finishing the season with a .303 average, 26 home runs and 98 RBI.^[18]

Kanemoto had somewhat of a down year in2007, putting up 31 homers and 95 RBIs but batting just .265 and recording his lowest OPS (.843) since 1998. That the Tigers finished last in the NPB in team batting average and runs scored might also have been a contributing factor to the media's criticism of Kanemoto. As he chose to play through ameniscus tear to his left knee (a season-ending injury for many players), slowing him down both in the field and on the basepaths, some even alleged that Kanemoto was just "playing for his [consecutive games] streak" and that he was "hurting the team by continuing to play in such conditions" by taking playing time away from some of the Tigers' younger players. He underwent surgery on his left knee for the first time in his life in October.^[19]

Kanemoto recorded his 1999th careerhit on April 62008, but did not get his 2000th hit (the 37th player to accomplish the feat in Japanese professional baseball history) until April 12 in a game against the BayStars.^[20][21] His hitless stretch of three games and 15at-bats between his 1999th and 2000th career hit was an NPB record. (Incidentally, teammateTakahiro Arai, who played with Kanemoto on both the Carp and the Tigers, got his 1000th career hit in the same game.) He won his third monthly MVP award that June, hitting .413 with six home runs and 20 RBI. Though the Tigers narrowly lost the pennant race to the rival Giants, Kanemoto finished the season with a .307 average, 27 home runs and 108 RBI, bouncing back from a disappointing 2007 campaign.^[22][23] He underwent surgery on his knee for the second straight year during the off-season.

Despite having to sit out virtually all of Spring training due torehab of his left knee, Kanemoto went on a torrid streak to begin the2009 season,^[24] hitting .521 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs andslugging 1.146 through the first twelve games of the season. He homered in the Tigers' season opener against the Swallows on April 3, his 41st birthday, and hit three home runs in a game for the first time in his career on April 8 against the Carp,^[25] making history when he repeated the feat on April 10 against the Giants and became the first player in NPB history to homer in three consecutive plate appearances twice in the same month.^[26] Though he cooled down after his initial streak, he hit .379 with eight homers and 30 RBIs in April, setting a career high for RBIs in a single month, leading the Central League in all three Triple Crown categories and winning his fourth monthly MVP award. He also had three walk-off hits early in the season, a two-run double off Carp closerKatsuhiro Nagakawa on April 7, an RBI single off BayStars relieverYuya Ishii on April 30, and a walk-off home run off Carp reliever Ryuji Yokoyama on May 12, the Tigers' 7000th franchise home run.^[27]

Bold indicates league leader

• Nippon Professional Baseball career statistics fromJapaneseBaseball.com
• Tomoaki Kanemoto Official BlogArchived January 19, 2009, at theWayback Machine (Japanese)
• THE GOLDEN PLAYERS CLUB (Japanese)

• Living people
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• Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
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• Naturalized citizens of Japan
• Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners
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