Makoto Imaoka (今岡 真訪, Imaoka Makoto, real name: 今岡 誠, born September 11, 1974), nicknamed "Makochan",[1] is a Japanese former professional baseball infielder. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball from 1997 to 2012 for the Hanshin Tigers and Chiba Lotte Marines.

Makoto Imaoka
今岡 真訪
Infielder / Coach
Born: (1974-09-11) September 11, 1974 (age 50)
Takarazuka, Hyōgo, Japan
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
NPB debut
April 8, 1997, for the Hanshin Tigers
Last NPB appearance
June 5, 2011, for the Chiba Lotte Marines
NPB statistics
Batting average.279
Hits1,284
RBI594
Home runs122
Teams
As player
As coach
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Representing  Japan
Men's Baseball
Summer Olympics
Silver medal – second place Atlanta 1996 Team Competition
Intercontinental Cup
Silver medal – second place Havana 1995 Team Competition

Playing career

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Imaoka spent several uneventful seasons in the Japanese professional leagues before being chosen as the leadoff batter by Senichi Hoshino, who managed the Hanshin Tigers from 2002 to 2004. Imaoka won the batting title in 2003 with a .340 batting average, and his team won the Central League pennant the same year. He had previously played shortstop and second base, but was converted to third base in 2004. He continued his hitting prowess, and led the league with 147 RBI in 2005. He fell into a huge slump in 2006, and missed half of the season due to injuries.

He won a silver medal playing for the Japanese national team in the 1996 Summer Olympics before entering the Japanese professional leagues.

Coaching career

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Imaoka spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons as the hitting coach for the Hanshin Tigers. On October 14, 2024, Hanshin announced that Imaoka was leaving the team.[2]

Career statistics

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SEASON TEAM Squad number G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB AVG
1997 T 7 98 252 18 63 11 1 2 20 1 .250
1998 133 471 48 138 20 3 7 44 6 .293
1999 128 457 36 115 11 1 6 39 4 .252
2000 40 113 8 24 5 0 1 2 0 .212
2001 123 400 36 107 15 0 4 40 3 .268
2002 122 505 46 160 40 0 15 56 0 .317
2003 120 485 67 165 35 1 12 72 1 .340
2004 138 572 87 175 29 0 28 83 0 .306
2005 146 559 71 156 26 2 29 147 1 .279
2006 59 204 16 45 3 2 7 29 1 .220
2007 85 323 23 90 8 0 4 24 0 .279
2008 55 169 15 29 3 0 7 29 0 .172
2009 23 30 0 4 2 0 0 2 0 .133
2010 M 2 26 44 3 10 2 0 0 6 0 .227
2011 13 23 2 3 1 0 0 1 0 .130
Total 1309 4607 476 1284 211 10 122 594 17 .279

References

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  1. ^ "ニックネーム". 千葉ロッテマリーンズ オフィシャルサイト 「マリンフェスタ」特設サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  2. ^ "x.com".
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