| Masa Yamamoto | |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Birth Date: | 11 August 1965 |
| Birth Place: | Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Bats: | Left |
| Throws: | Left |
| Debutleague: | NPB |
| Debutdate: | October 16 |
| Debutyear: | 1986 |
| Debutteam: | Chunichi Dragons |
| Finaldate: | October 7 |
| Finalleague: | NPB |
| Finalteam: | Chunichi Dragons |
| Finalyear: | 2015 |
| Statyear: | 2015 |
| Statleague: | NPB |
| Stat1label: | Win–loss |
| Stat1value: | 219–165 |
| Stat2label: | Earned run average |
| Stat2value: | 3.45 |
| Stat3label: | Shutouts |
| Stat3value: | 30 |
| Stat4label: | Innings pitched |
| Stat4value: | 3,348.2 |
| Stat5label: | Strikeouts |
| Stat5value: | 2,310 |
| Teams: |
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| Highlights: |
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| Hoflink: | Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame |
| Hoftype: | Japanese |
| Hofdate: | 2022 |
| Hofvote: | 85.0%（307/361） |
Masahiro 'Masa' Yamamoto (real name:, born August 11, 1965, in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture) is a left-handed, retired Japanese professional baseball pitcher. A screwballer, Yamamoto pitched for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball for 29 years from 1986 to 2015. He is the oldest Japanese pitcher to win a baseball game.[1] With 200+ career victories, he is a member of Meikyukai.
Yamamoto attended Nichidai Fujisawa High School, and was selected at age 18 by Chunichi.
Yamamoto was the Central League Earned Run Average Champion in 1993, posting a 2.05 ERA.He won the 1994 Eiji Sawamura Award, going 19–8 with 3.49 ERA and 14 complete games.
On September 16, 2006, Yamamoto threw a no-hitter against the Hanshin Tigers, becoming the oldest pitcher in NPB to throw a no-hit game.
On September 5, 2014, Yamamoto won his first and only start of the season at Nagoya Dome in a shutout match against the Hanshin Tigers, making him the oldest Japanese pitcher to win a game, at 49 years, 25 days, surpassing the old mark of 48 years, 4 months set by the Hankyu Braves’ Shinji Hamazaki in 1950.[2] During the game, he threw 90 pitches in five scoreless innings, gave up five hits and a walk, and striking out two.
Yamamoto has pitched in six Japan Series with the Dragons, with his team winning once (in 2007).
Yamamoto is a well known RC model aficionado, and came in 4th place in a RC tournament in 2002.[3] He has also hosted an RC model TV show on Fuji TV ONE titled Yamamoto Masa no Rajiko Dojo.[4]
In addition, Yamamoto also has owned shares of racehorses, with his most successful horses being Al Ain and Shahryar.[5]