Naoto Watanabe

Japanese baseball player and coach

Baseball player

Naoto Watanabe
Watanabe with the Yokohama BayStars
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – No. 26
Infielder / Coach
Born: (1980-10-15) October 15, 1980 (age 43) Ibaraki, Japan
Bats: Right Throws: Right
NPB debut
April 17, 2007, for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
NPB statistics
Batting average	.259
Hits	855
Runs batted in	229
Stolen bases	115

Teams
As player Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (2007–2010) Yokohama BayStars/Yokohama DeNA BayStars (2011–2013) Saitama Seibu Lions (2013–2017) Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (2018–2020) As coach Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (2020–present)
Career highlights and awards
NPB All-Star (2011)

Naoto Watanabe (渡辺直人, Watanabe Naoto, born October 15, 1980) is a Japanese former professional baseball player who is currently a coach for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Golden Eagles, Yokohama BayStars/Yokohama DeNA BayStars and Saitama Seibu Lions of NPB.

Career

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles selected Watanabe with the fifth selection in the 2006 NPB draft [jp].^[1]

On April 7, 2007, Watanabe made his NPB debut.

On October 14, 2019, Watanabe become playing batting coach for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of NPB.^[2]

On September 12, 2020, Watanabe announced his retirement after the season,^[3] and next day he held press conference.^[4]

^ "東北楽天ゴールデンイーグルス選択選手一覧". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved January 9, 2021.
^ "新任コーチに関して". 東北楽天ゴールデンイーグルス公式サイト (in Japanese). October 14, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
^ "渡辺直人選手現役引退に関して". 東北楽天ゴールデンイーグルスオフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). September 12, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
^ "渡辺直人選手引退記者会見". 東北楽天ゴールデンイーグルスオフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). September 13, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.