Naoyuki Shimizu


Naoyuki Shimizu, nicknamed "Nao", is a former professional baseball player from Kyoto, Japan. He is a starting pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

Career

He attended Hōtoku Gakuen High School. He joined the Japanese Olympic baseball team for the 2004 Summer Olympics, and won a bronze medal. He also played with the Japanese national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Tragedy struck in January 2008 when Shimizu's wife died. He has 3 kids.
After ten seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines from 2000 to 2009, Shimizu became a free agent and signed with the Yokohama BayStars. His career numbers with the Marines were 93 wins against 85 losses, with a career 4.02 ERA, tossing 38 complete games and nine shutouts.