Shintaro Fujinami Height, Weight, Age, Facts, Family

Shintaro Fujinami is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher who has played for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB), Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Born Name

Shintaro Fujinami

Nick Name

Shintaro

Sun Sign

Aries

Born Place

Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, Japan

Nationality

Education

Shintaro Fujinami studied at Miyayamadai Junior High School and then got enrolled at Osaka Tōin Junior and Senior High School in 2010. During his final year in 2012, he led Tōin as their ace pitcher at the Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament as well as the Japanese High School Baseball Championship and the school won both competitions.

Occupation

Professional Baseball Pitcher

Bats

Right

Throws

Right

Build

Athletic

Height

6 ft 6 in or 198 cm

Weight

97 kg or 214 lbs

Race / Ethnicity

Asian

Hair Color

Black

Eye Color

Dark Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

Towering height

Shintaro Fujinami Facts

1. He began playing Little League Baseball for the Takeshirodai Club and then went on to play for the Osaka Senboku Boys after entering Miyayamadai Junior High School. During his time at Miyayamadai Junior High School, Shintaro Fujinami pitched as fast as 142 km/h (88 mph).
2. In the 16U(AA) Baseball World Championship, he served as a pitcher for the national team.
3. He stood at 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) when he graduated grade school and at 194 cm (6 ft 4½ in) when he graduated junior high.
4. At the Summer Koshien tournaments in 2012, he pitched two consecutive complete shutout games in both the semi-finals and finals (only surrendering two hits in each game), recorded the fastest pitch of 153 km/h (95 mph), and tied the tournament record for the most strike-outs in the finals match (14). He eventually finished the tournament with a 1.07 ERA in 76 innings and 90 strikeouts.
5. Shintaro Fujinami pitched for the national team in the 25th 18U(AAA) Baseball World Championship in 2012 and recorded a 1.11 ERA in over 24 innings as well as got selected into the tournament’s Best Nine.
6. For his outstanding performance for the year, he became a recipient of the 2012 MVP Award by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) under the 18 & below category.
7. In the 2012 Nippon Professional Baseball draft, Shintaro Fujinami was the number 1 pick of the Hanshin Tigers, Orix Buffaloes, Chiba Lotte Marines, and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. After Hanshin Tigers won the four-way lottery, he was assigned jersey number 19.
8. On March 31, 2013, he made his debut in the third game of the season. This marked the earliest-ever appearance by a rookie drafted out of high school. He went on to record the loss by pitching six innings and allowing both runs in a 2-0 loss against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Jingu Stadium.
9. On April 14, 2013, Shintaro Fujinami made his second start against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars and recorded his first professional win, pitching 6 scoreless innings.
10. He became the 5th pitcher drafted out of high school in NPB history to record his first pro victory the year after they won a Koshien tournament as well as the first in that group to also record their first pro victory at Koshien Stadium. In addition to that, he also became the first pitcher out of high school in franchise history to record their first pro victory at Koshien and the first CL rookie out of high school to record ten or more victories in a season since Yutaka Enatsu in 1967.
11. Shintaro Fujinami ended his rookie year at 10-6, with 125 strikeouts and a 2.75 ERA in 23 starts.
12. The Hanshin Tigers posted Fujinami to Major League Baseball (MLB) on December 1, 2022.
13. He signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) on January 13, 2023.
14. In exchange for Easton Lucas, he was traded from the Oakland Athletics to the Baltimore Orioles on July 19, 2023.
15. Both Shintaro Fujinami and his father have been supporters of the Japanese professional baseball team Yomiuri Giants.

Featured Image by Cake6 (talk) / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 4.0