Tsuyoshi Shinjo
Tsuyoshi "BIGBOSS" Shinjo | |
---|---|
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – No. 1 | |
Outfielder / Manager | |
Born: Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan | January 28, 1972|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
Professional debut | |
NPB: September 10, 1991, for the Hanshin Tigers | |
MLB: April 3, 2001, for the New York Mets | |
Last appearance | |
MLB: June 27, 2003, for the New York Mets | |
NPB: October 26, 2006, for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | |
NPB statistics | |
Batting average | .254 |
Home runs | 205 |
Runs batted in | 716 |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .245 |
Home runs | 20 |
Runs batted in | 100 |
Teams | |
As Player
As Manager
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Tsuyoshi Shinjo (新庄 剛志, Shinjō Tsuyoshi, January 28, 1972), also known as BIGBOSS (ビッグボス, Biggubosu), is a former Japanese professional baseball outfielder and the current manager for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Shinjo began his playing career with the Hanshin Tigers, and moved to the United States to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets. He is the second Japanese-born position player to play an MLB game, as well as the first in the National League. In 2002, he joined the San Francisco Giants and was the first Japanese-born player to appear in the World Series. He had a second stint with the Mets in 2003, and returned to Japan to play for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, with whom he won the Japan Series in his final season.
Career
Born in
Shinjo ended his career in storybook fashion. Playing for years on losing teams in Hanshin and despite playing in the 2002 World Series alongside Giants legend Barry Bonds, Shinjo showed emotion and shed tears as his final game crowned him a champion, as he was a member of the Fighters squad that won their first Japan Series title since 1962 with a 4 games to 1 series win over the Chunichi Dragons. As Shinjo took the field for the top of the ninth inning in the final game, he was given a standing ovation from the home crowd. Before the inning began, he was visibly emotional. Although the final play was only close to him, (left fielder Hichori Morimoto caught the final ball) the cameras showed only Shinjo's dramatic reaction. Traditionally, the players toss the manager in the air for series wins first, but the players tossed Shinjo in the air first instead of manager Trey Hillman.[2]
Shinjo is now a television
In October 2021, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters announced that Shinjo would be the manager for the upcoming season.[4] With his hiring, this gave him the nickname, "Big Boss" or "Big Boss Shinjo" by fans, due to his celebrity status and his fun, over the top, unorthodox clubhouse atmosphere. He was also hired by the Fighters to replace longtime manager Hideki Kuriyama, who became the manager of Samurai Japan at the end of the season. The success of the nickname led him to register himself as BIGBOSS, and on March 24, 2022, just a few days before Opening Day, NPB officially approved BIGBOSS as his registered name for the 2022 season.[5]
During the 2022 season, Shinjo became well-known for entering the field in a home game against the Saitama Seibu Lions in a hoverbike.[6] He also entered his first ever home game as manager, as SB Nation described it, "straight out of wrestling".[7] He also showed up to spring training in a three-wheeled motorcycle. He also has his own jersey, with his registered name replacing the nameplate of the Fighters.
When the club made the jump to Es Con Field Hokkaido, Shinjo announced the partial retirement of his "Big Boss" moniker at the club's final game against the Chiba Lotte Marines at the Sapporo Dome. He also designed a new alternate uniform for the Fighters, known as "New Age Games" (officially known as "NEW AGE GAMES produced by SHINJO").[8] These jerseys used a black, red, and gold color scheme with a V on the center, standing for victory.[9] Some fans, mostly Americans, had noticed its similarity to the Vancouver Canucks' infamous Flying V jerseys from the 1980s.
MLB stats
SEASON | TEAM | G | AB |
R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
SB | CS | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | NYM | 123 | 400 | 46 | 107 | 23 | 1 | 10 | 56 | 25 | 70 | 4 | 5 | .268 | .320 | .405 | .725 |
2002 | SF | 118 | 362 | 42 | 86 | 15 | 3 | 9 | 37 | 24 | 46 | 5 | 0 | .238 | .294 | .370 | .664 |
2003 | NYM | 62 | 114 | 10 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 1 | .193 | .238 | .246 | .484 |
Total | --- | 303 | 876 | 98 | 215 | 41 | 4 | 20 | 100 | 55 | 128 | 9 | 6 | .245 | .299 | .370 | .669 |
Japanese baseball stats
SEASON | TEAM | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | AVG | SLG | OBP | OPS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | T | 13 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .118 | .118 | .118 | .236 |
1992 | T | 95 | 353 | 39 | 98 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 46 | 18 | 73 | 5 | 2 | .278 | .433 | .320 | .753 |
1993 | T | 102 | 408 | 50 | 105 | 13 | 1 | 23 | 62 | 20 | 91 | 13 | 2 | .257 | .463 | .305 | .768 |
1994 | T | 122 | 466 | 54 | 117 | 23 | 7 | 17 | 68 | 30 | 93 | 7 | 5 | .251 | .440 | .304 | .744 |
1995 | T | 87 | 311 | 34 | 70 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 37 | 26 | 76 | 6 | 4 | .225 | .360 | .294 | .654 |
1996 | T | 113 | 408 | 55 | 97 | 16 | 4 | 19 | 66 | 55 | 106 | 2 | 2 | .238 | .436 | .335 | .771 |
1997 | T | 136 | 482 | 62 | 112 | 17 | 3 | 20 | 68 | 44 | 120 | 8 | 4 | .232 | .405 | .306 | .711 |
1998 | T | 132 | 414 | 39 | 92 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 27 | 25 | 65 | 1 | 2 | .222 | .331 | .275 | .606 |
1999 | T | 123 | 471 | 53 | 120 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 58 | 23 | 72 | 8 | 2 | .255 | .418 | .303 | .721 |
2000 | T | 131 | 511 | 71 | 142 | 23 | 1 | 28 | 85 | 32 | 93 | 15 | 6 | .278 | .491 | .321 | .812 |
2004 | F |
123 | 504 | 88 | 150 | 28 | 3 | 24 | 79 | 15 | 58 | 1 | 3 | .298 | .508 | .327 | .835 |
2005 | F |
108 | 380 | 54 | 91 | 20 | 1 | 20 | 57 | 14 | 64 | 5 | 1 | .239 | .455 | .274 | .729 |
2006 | F |
126 | 477 | 47 | 113 | 21 | 0 | 16 | 62 | 24 | 76 | 2 | 6 | .258 | .416 | .298 | .714 |
Total | --- | 1411 | 5163 | 647 | 1309 | 234 | 36 | 205 | 716 | 326 | 990 | 73 | 39 | .254 | .432 | .305 | .737 |
Managerial career
Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Games | Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
F | 2022 | 143 | 59 | 81 | 3 | .421 | 6th (last) in PL | – | |||
F | 2023 | 143 | 60 | 82 | 1 | .423 | 6th (last) in PL | – |
See also
References
- ^ Metropolis – Sports – Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Kazuhiro Kiyohara
- ^ "44年ぶりV!新庄泣きっぱなし". nikkansports.com (in Japanese).
- ^ "新庄剛志 バリ島で悠々自適のフリーダム生活" (in Japanese). Asagei+plus. December 20, 2013. Archived from the original on March 25, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- ^ "日本ハム新監督に新庄剛志氏、球団が正式発表". asahi.com (in Japanese). 29 October 2021.
- ^ "Unprecedented registered name "BIGBOSS", NPB confirms terms and conditions and says "it is not in conflict with the rules"". Daily Sports Japan (via Yahoo Japan News) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ "Forget the bullpen cart, Nippon-Ham Fighters manager Tsuyoshi "BIG BOSS" Shinjo just entered the game on a freaking hovercraft". The Loop. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
- ^ Dator, James (2022-03-25). "This Japanese baseball legend got an entrance straight out of wrestling". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
- ^ Dator, James (2023-05-15). "This Japanese baseball team's Deep-V uniforms are the future of sports attire". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
- ^ "新庄剛志監督プロデュース 《NEW AGE GAMES produced by SHINJO》開催! 本人デザインユニフォームの着用・販売決定". 北海道日本ハムファイターズ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-30.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Nippon Professional Baseball career statistics from JapaneseBaseball.com
- Tsuyoshi Shinjo, JapaneseBallPlayers.com