Kōhei Morihara

Kōhei Morihara
Yokohama DeNA BayStars – No. 45
Pitcher
Born: (1991-12-26) December 26, 1991 (age 33)
Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
NPB debut
March 31, 2017, for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
NPB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Win–loss record10-11
Earned run average3.47
Strikeouts194
Saves21
Holds59
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Kōhei Morihara (森原 康平, Morihara Kōhei, born December 26, 1991) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Career

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

Morihara began his career with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, making his NPB debut on March 31, 2017. In his rookie campaign, he pitched to a 2-4 record and 4.81 ERA across 42 appearances. His numbers took a dip in 2018, regressing to a 5.82 ERA with 19 strikeouts across 17.0 innings pitched. Morihara made 64 appearances for the Eagles in 2019, posting the best season of his career. In 64.0 innings of work, he struck out 65 batters, while working to a 4-2 record and 1.97 ERA.[1]

In the COVID-19-affected 2020 season, Morihara took a big step back, struggling to a 7.56 ERA with 14 strikeouts across 17 contests. He returned the next year to make 34 appearances, posting a tidy 2.78 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched. In 2022, Morihara pitched in 3 games for the Eagles, allowing no runs in any of the games.

Yokohama DeNA BayStars

On July 26, 2022, Morihara was traded to the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in exchange for Yukiya Itoh.[2] He made 6 appearances for Yokohama to close out the season, allowing 4 earned runs while striking out 8 in 6.0 innings pitched.

International career

Morihara represented the Japan national baseball team in the 2019 exhibition games against Mexico.

On February 27, 2019, he was selected at the 2019 exhibition games against Mexico.[3]

On October 1, 2019, he was selected at the 2019 WBSC Premier12.[4] But, on October 21, he canceled due to right elbow discomfort.[5]

References

  1. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=moriha000koh
  2. ^ https://twitter.com/npb_reddit/status/1552495880850526208?s=46&t=_Xr7c_a5KDuaGjyea4Wppg
  3. ^ "ENEOS 侍ジャパンシリーズ2019「日本 vs メキシコ」に出場するメンバー28名が決定". 野球日本代表 侍ジャパン オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  4. ^ "「ENEOS 侍ジャパンシリーズ2019」出場選手決定について". 野球日本代表 侍ジャパン オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  5. ^ "「ENEOS 侍ジャパンシリーズ2019」、「第2回 WBSC プレミア12」の日本チーム出場選手変更（辞退）について". 野球日本代表 侍ジャパン オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
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