Kenji Tomashino

Kenji Tomashino
Kenji Tomashino
	Infielder / Outfielder / Coach
	Born: October 11, 1966 (age 57); Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan
	Batted: Both Threw: Right
NPB debut
	April 12, 1989, for the Yakult Swallows
Last appearance
	October 11, 1999, for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
NPB statistics ; (through 1999)
Batting average	.254
Hits	418
Home runs	19
Runs batted in	105
Stolen base	79
Teams
	As player Yakult Swallows (1989–1997); Hiroshima Toyo Carp (1998–1999); As coach Hiroshima Toyo Carp (2000–2002);
Career highlights and awards
	1989 Central League Rookie of the Year;
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing Japan
Olympic Games

Kenji Tomashino (笘篠賢治, Tomashino Kenji, born October 11, 1966) is a Japanese former Nippon Professional Baseball infielder/outfielder.^[1] His elder brother Seiji is also a professional baseball player.

Life[edit]

After graduating from high school, Tomashino went on to Chuo University. There he played as an outfielder and was especially useful because he also protected the infield.^[2]

At the 1988 draft meeting, Tomashino agreed to join the Tokyo Yakult Swallows with a contract fee of ¥50 million and an annual salary of ¥6 million.^[3]

Since 1989, he has been active with his fast feet as a weapon, and participated in the junior all-star game. That year, he was active as a second baseman instead of his main outfielder position and recorded 32 stolen bases and was awarded the Nippon Professional Baseball Rookie of the Year Award.^[4] Kozo Shoda of Hiroshima won the title of the base stealing king with 34 bases. The following year, Tomashino's opportunities decreased under the supervision of Katsuya Nomura, and as a result, his first year became his career-high.^[5]^[6]

After his career as a baseball player, he has been a commentator for Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, Fuji TV One's PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL NEWS, and TV Shinhiroshima.^[7]