Background
Shimizu was born in Miki, Hyogo, Japan on 23 April 1984.
清水 誉
Shimizu was born in Miki, Hyogo, Japan on 23 April 1984.
He started playing baseball when he was in the second grade at Hirata Elementary School in Miki, becoming the team"s catcher due to his strong arm. After leading Miki Junior High School to third place in a regional tournament as the team"s catcher and number four batter, he wanted to enroll in a high school known for its baseball program He became the high school"s main catcher in the summer of his first year, helping his team reach the quarter finals of the Hyogo Prefectural High School Tournament in his final year.
Due to an injury to the university club"s main catcher, he was able to take the role immediately upon joining the club, remaining in the position for his four years of university.
In his final year he was named in the Kansai University League"s best nine in both the spring and autumn seasons. He hat a total of 6 home runs while at university.
Shimizu was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in the fourth round of the 2006 university/adult draft. In 2007 Shimizu was evaluated highly during practice matches and pre-season matches, earning a place on the first-team roster for the start of the season.
However, he did not get an opportunity to play for the first team and was eventually sent to the Tigers" farm team in the Western League (Japanese baseball}|Western League.
He played 41 games for the farm team, with a bating average of.260 and 5 home runs. In 2008 he played in 54 Western League matches, including 47 as a catcher. His batting average fell and he hit only 3 home runs.
During the year he was wearing contact lenses, but underwent laser corrective surgery at the end of the year.
In 2009 he again started the season in the first-team squad due to leading catcher Akihiro Yano being injured. He made his first appearance for the Tigers" first team in the second match of the season, on 4 April 2009 against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
On 17 May he made his first start and recorded his first hit, also against the Swallows. He appeared in a total of 20 first-team games, as well as 23 games for the farm team in which he had a batting average of.278.
At the end of the 2009 season Shimizu announced his intention to marry a classmate from his junior high school in December 2009.
