Norihiro Nakamura #66

Norihiro Nakamura...he and his wife, Hiroko, have three daughters, Kyoka (8), Erika (6) and Suzuka (3)...nickname is "Nori"...attended Shibuya High School before being selected in the fourth round of the 1991 draft...was a shortstop and a pitcher while in high school...was the highest-paid non-foreigner in the Japanese League.

2005

Was signed on Feb. 3, 2005, following a successful 13-year professional career in Japan...made his Major League debut on April 10 at Arizona and singled off Mike Koplove for his first Major League hit...went 5-for-10 (.500) with two homers in his first three games at Triple-A Las Vegas before being called up on April 10...made his first career start in the club's home opener, April 12 vs. San Francisco and doubled in his first career at-bat at Dodger Stadium...after beginning his career with three hits in his first eight at-bats (.375), went hitless in 14 consecutive at-bats before singling home two runs in the eighth inning on April 24 at Colorado in the Dodgers' 8-6 victory...that marked his first big league multi-RBI game...was designated for assignment on May 9 and returned to Las Vegas, where he finished the season tied for the team lead with 22 homers and had an overall average of .249 (89-for-357) with 67 RBIs in 101 games.

2004

Came to Spring Training with the Dodgers as part of the club's working agreement with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes while rehabilitating a knee injury...appeared in three games with the Dodgers and went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts...appeared in 105 games with Osaka and batted .274 with 19 homers and 66 RBI.