1. Life
Naoya Shimada's early life was deeply rooted in baseball, leading him through a varied high school career before his professional debut.
1.1. Childhood and High School
Shimada was born on March 17, 1970, in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He began playing baseball in the first grade and became an ace pitcher during his time at Kashiwa Municipal Tomise Junior High School. Upon entering Joso Gakuin High School, he initially played various positions, including catcher, infielder, and outfielder, before returning to his role as a pitcher.
In 1987, Shimada participated in both the Spring (59th Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament) and Summer (69th National High School Baseball Championship Tournament) Kōshien tournaments. The Spring tournament marked Joso Gakuin's first-ever appearance at Kōshien, though they were defeated in the first round. In the Summer tournament, Shimada pitched his team to the final, where they ultimately lost to PL Gakuen High School, making him a runner-up pitcher. Notably, the pitcher he faced in that Kōshien final, Hiroki Nomura of PL Gakuen, later became his teammate when Shimada joined the Yokohama Taiyo Whales.
2. Playing Career
Shimada's professional playing career spanned 15 seasons across four NPB teams, primarily as a middle reliever, where he achieved significant success and contributed to multiple championships.
2.1. Professional Entry and Early Career
After graduating from high school, Shimada joined the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in 1987 as an undrafted player. He was promoted by the team as part of the "SS Combo" alongside fellow rookie Hiroshi Shibakusa. Shimada made his first-team debut on October 8, 1989, in a game against the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. In 1991, he struggled in the minor leagues, finishing with a 0-10 record in the Eastern League. Following that season, he was traded to the Yokohama Taiyo Whales in exchange for pitcher Ken Ishikawa.
2.2. Yokohama Era
Shimada's tenure with the Yokohama Taiyo Whales, which rebranded as the Yokohama BayStars in 1993, marked the most successful period of his playing career. On August 23, 1992, he recorded his first professional win against the Chunichi Dragons. The following year, in 1993, he achieved his first professional complete game.
In 1994, Shimada emerged as a prominent middle reliever for Yokohama, appearing in 50 games and securing 9 wins, which tied him for the team lead. He continued his strong performance in 1995, achieving a career-high and team-leading 10 wins, marking his first season with double-digit victories. It is a rare occurrence for a relief pitcher to lead their team in wins for two consecutive years. (For context, the starting pitcher with the most wins in 1994 was Takashi Saito with 9 wins and 12 losses, and in 1995, Saito had 8 wins and 9 losses, while Daisuke Miura had 8 wins and 8 losses). During a game on May 13, 1994, against the Yomiuri Giants at Yokohama Stadium, the team achieved a then-record-tying 9 consecutive hits in Nippon Professional Baseball. This streak began with an infield hit by Shimada. After the batting order cycled through, Shimada came up to bat again but intentionally struck out to avoid injury, positioning himself far from home plate.
In 1996, the team faced a rubella epidemic, leading to a shortage of starting pitchers. Shimada was occasionally used as a starter again but struggled with his performance throughout the season. In 1997, due to an injury to the previous year's setup pitcher, Hideki Igarashi, Shimada was called upon to fill that role and went on to win his first individual title, the Best Middle Reliever award. His contributions continued into 1998, where he served as a key relief ace, playing an integral role in Yokohama's first Central League championship in 38 years and their subsequent Japan Series title. In 1999, despite a personal slump during the season, Shimada made his first All-Star Game appearance, having been selected by manager Hiroshi Gondo in recognition of his crucial role in the team's success in 1997 and 1998. He became a free agent after the 2000 season.
2.3. Yakult and Kintetsu Era
Following his departure from Yokohama, Shimada signed with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. In 2001, he continued to contribute as a middle reliever, helping the Swallows win the Central League championship and the Japan Series title. After the 2002 season, he became a free agent once more and joined the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. In 2003, Shimada made only 3 appearances in the first team before retiring from professional baseball at the end of the season.
3. Coaching Career
After concluding his playing career, Naoya Shimada transitioned into coaching, holding various roles in both independent leagues and professional baseball, eventually returning to manage his high school alma mater.
3.1. Independent League Coaching
In 2004, Shimada returned to his former team, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, as a batting practice pitcher. From 2007 to 2010, he served as the pitching coach for the Shinano Grandserows in the BC League. In 2011, he moved to the Shikoku Island League Plus, taking on the role of pitching coach for the Tokushima Indigo Socks. He was promoted to manager of the Tokushima Indigo Socks in 2012. In his second year as manager, 2013, he led the team to win the second half of the season, culminating in their second overall league championship. This achievement made him only the second manager in the Shikoku Island League Plus without prior NPB coaching experience to lead a team to an overall championship.
In 2014, Shimada's team achieved a remarkable three-peat, securing consecutive overall championships by winning both halves of the season, a feat only accomplished by one other team in league history. They also triumphed in the Grand Championship against the BC League champion, Gunma Diamond Pegasus. Furthermore, the Tokushima Indigo Socks won the "SoftBank Cup" (an exchange series with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks' third team) for two consecutive years. This marked the first instance where a team that won the league's halves, overall championship, and Grand Championship also won the SoftBank Cup.
3.2. NPB and High School Coaching
From 2016 to 2017, Shimada served as the pitching coach for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars' farm team, returning to a professional organization. Even after stepping down as coach, he remained with DeNA until the 2019 season as a contract employee within their baseball promotion and school business departments. In 2019, he also coached the DeNA Junior Team in the NPB 12-team Junior Tournament.
On March 16, 2020, Shimada was certified by the Japan Student Baseball Association to coach high school and university baseball, making him eligible to instruct at the amateur level. He returned to his alma mater, Joso Gakuin High School, as a pitching coach on March 20, 2020, and was also appointed as a school staff member on April 1. On July 26, 2020, the day after Joso Gakuin was defeated in the third round of the 2020 Summer Ibaraki High School Baseball Tournament (a substitute tournament held due to the cancellation of the 102nd National High School Baseball Championship amidst the COVID-19 pandemic), Shimada was promoted to manager of the high school baseball team. His first game as manager was an exhibition match on August 9 against Teikyo Nagaoka High School, which was managed by his former "SS Combo" partner, Hiroshi Shibakusa. In the fall of 2020, his new team finished as runner-up in the Autumn Kanto Tournament, thereby securing a spot in the 2021 93rd Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament. On March 24, 2021, Joso Gakuin played against Tsuruga Kehi High School in the first round. The game ended 9-5 in favor of Joso Gakuin after 13 innings, marking the first time a tie-break rule was applied in the history of the Senbatsu tournament.
4. Statistics and Records
This section details Naoya Shimada's professional pitching statistics, major awards, key career milestones, and jersey numbers.
4.1. Yearly Pitching Statistics
| Year | Team | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | W | L | HLD | PCT | BF | IP | H | HR | BB | HBP | SO | WP | BK | R | ER | ERA | WHIP | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Nippon-Ham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | ---- | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| 1990 | Nippon-Ham | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -- | .000 | 190 | 39.2 | 50 | 6 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 25 | 5.67 | 1.84 | |
| 1992 | Taiyo | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -- | .500 | 202 | 46.0 | 45 | 4 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 23 | 4.50 | 1.48 | |
| 1993 | Yokohama | 16 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | -- | .429 | 270 | 60.2 | 67 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 40 | 4 | 0 | 27 | 18 | 2.67 | 1.52 | |
| 1994 | Yokohama | 50 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 3 | -- | .500 | 491 | 116.2 | 122 | 9 | 31 | 2 | 4 | 68 | 4 | 1 | 53 | 50 | 3.86 | 1.31 |
| 1995 | Yokohama | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 0 | -- | .714 | 322 | 75.2 | 82 | 10 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 51 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 30 | 3.57 | 1.39 |
| 1996 | Yokohama | 38 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | -- | .500 | 300 | 65.1 | 82 | 6 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 48 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 28 | 3.86 | 1.74 |
| 1997 | Yokohama | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 1 | -- | .417 | 350 | 84.2 | 83 | 5 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 55 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 24 | 2.55 | 1.25 |
| 1998 | Yokohama | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | -- | .750 | 262 | 61.0 | 59 | 5 | 24 | 2 | 5 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 16 | 2.36 | 1.36 |
| 1999 | Yokohama | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -- | .000 | 198 | 42.0 | 55 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 29 | 25 | 5.36 | 1.67 |
| 2000 | Yokohama | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -- | 1.000 | 96 | 23.0 | 23 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 12 | 4.70 | 1.39 |
| 2001 | Yakult | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -- | .000 | 198 | 46.1 | 45 | 5 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 15 | 2.91 | 1.36 |
| 2002 | Yakult | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | ---- | 13 | 2.2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10.13 | 1.88 |
| 2003 | Kintetsu | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | ---- | 13 | 1.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 21.6 | 4.80 |
| Career: 14 years | 419 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 38 | 9 | -- | .506 | 2906 | 665.2 | 723 | 63 | 249 | 25 | 27 | 417 | 23 | 2 | 317 | 273 | 3.69 | 1.46 | |
- The Yokohama Taiyo Whales changed their team name to Yokohama BayStars in 1993.
4.2. Major Awards
- Best Middle Reliever: 1 time (1997)
4.3. Key Records
; Firsts
- First appearance: October 8, 1989, against the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes at Fujidera Stadium. He entered in the 8th inning with two outs as the third relief pitcher and completed the inning, pitching 1/3 of an inning without allowing a run.
- First strikeout: October 8, 1989, against Hermán Rivera.
- First start: April 28, 1990, against the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks at Tokyo Dome. He pitched 5 innings, allowing 2 runs.
- First win and first win as a starter: August 23, 1992, against the Chunichi Dragons at Yokohama Stadium. He pitched 7 innings, allowing 2 runs.
- First complete game win: September 23, 1992, against the Chunichi Dragons at Nagoya Stadium. He pitched 9 innings, allowing 4 runs.
- First complete game shutout: June 5, 1993, against the Chunichi Dragons at Nagoya Stadium.
- First save: May 25, 1994, against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Meiji Jingu Stadium. He entered in the 6th inning as the second relief pitcher and completed the game, pitching 4 innings without allowing a run.
; Other
- All-Star Game appearances: 1 time (1999)
4.4. Jersey Numbers
- 47 (1988-1991) - Player, Nippon-Ham Fighters
- 48 (1992-2000) - Player, Yokohama Taiyo Whales / Yokohama BayStars
- 12 (2001-2002) - Player, Tokyo Yakult Swallows
- 30 (2003) - Player, Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
- 68 (2004-2005) - Batting Practice Pitcher, Nippon-Ham Fighters
- 91 (2006) - Batting Practice Pitcher, Nippon-Ham Fighters
- 19 (2007-2010) - Pitching Coach, Shinano Grandserows
- 77 (2011-2014) - Pitching Coach / Manager, Tokushima Indigo Socks
- 81 (2015) - Manager, Tokushima Indigo Socks
- 84 (2016-2017) - Farm Team Pitching Coach, Yokohama DeNA BayStars