Shota Ono

Shota Ono (大野 奨太)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.

• School Toyo University

• Born January 13, 1987 in Ōgaki, Gifu Japan

Shota Ono made his pro debut in 2009.

Ono hit .333/.412/.417 for Japan in the 2008 Haarlem Baseball Week. He batted .429/.500/.476 in the 2008 World University Championship, Japan's second-best hitter after Keijiro Matsumoto. He was 0 for 4 in the Gold Medal game loss to the USA, but temporarily staved off defeat; in the 12th inning, he caught a throw from Matsumoto and retired Tommy Mendonca in a collision at home plate, hanging on to the ball.

Ono was the first-round pick of the Nippon Ham Fighters in the 2008 draft. He debuted on April 5 and got his first hit shortly thereafter, against Ryan Vogelsong. His first homer came on May 29 in an interleague game versus Daisuke Miura. Through June 10, he was hitting .194/.242/.290 in 28 games, as the backup to Shinya Tsuruoka.

Sources

• Nippon Pro Baseball english language site
• Harry Wedemeijer's international tourney stats
• 2008 World University Championship
• Japanese Wikipedia entry