He hit just .268 but led the Pacific League in triples (11) and stolen bases (41),[4] playing a key role in the Marines' first Japan Series championship since 1974.
[5] Coming off a strong showing in the inaugural World Baseball Classic,[6] his first major international tournament, Nishioka was named one of the cornerstones of the team by manager Bobby Valentine in 2006 and was used exclusively at shortstop for the first time in his career to reduce the risk of injury (Nishioka had hurt his knee the previous year after switching between second base and shortstop so frequently).
This is the third case a Japanese player's register name use capital letter after Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Michael Nakamura Despite being hampered by a wrist injury as well as neck pain, Nishioka reached .300 while accumulating enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title for the first time in his career.
However, while he succeeded in improving on both his batting average and his on-base percentage from the previous season (.300 and .366, respectively), he managed to steal only 27 bases in 40 attempts for a mediocre 67.5 percent success rate.
He continued to be plagued by injuries (both to his knee and neck[8] as well as to his feet) but chose to play through them, determined to keep the Marines within reach of the Climax Series (playoffs).
His injuries limited him to just 18 stolen bases (his lowest total since becoming the team's regular shortstop) in 29 attempts for a success rate of 62.1 percent and hindered his play both on the basepaths and in the field.
He continued to be bothered by injuries once the regular season began, hitting .263 for the month of April (albeit with a .391 on-base percentage) but missing several games in the opening weeks of the season with a right hamstring injury as well as a bruise to the right tarsus suffered when sliding into second base to break up a double play and colliding with second baseman Yosuke Takasu in the fifth inning of a game against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on April 16.
[11][12] Nishioka joined the Minnesota Twins for spring training at their facility in Fort Myers, Florida to start the 2011 MLB season.
[13] On April 7, just one week into his Major League career, Nishioka suffered a broken left fibula as New York Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher slid into second base attempting to break up a double play.
[16] Nishioka's 2011 season stats for the Twins included a .226 batting average in 221 at-bats, 14 runs scored, 19 RBIs, 0 homers, 15 walks, 43 strikeouts, an OBP of .278 and a .249 slugging percentage.
Nishioka was involved in a play that attracted much attention in the second round game against the United States on March 12 when his attempt to score on a routine sacrifice fly by Akinori Iwamura with the score tied in the eighth inning was nullified by a controversial call by home plate umpire Bob Davidson, who (seemingly incorrectly) ruled that Nishioka had left third base too early (Japan went on to lose the game 4–3).
[32] Listed at 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) and 80 kg (180 lb), Nishioka's frame is just slightly larger than average for a Japanese middle infielder.
He has made strides in both plate discipline as well as power since first coming into the pros (slugging a career-high .463 in 2008), but remains largely a prototypical leadoff man and contact hitter,[33] adept at beating out infielders' throws or bunting safely (particularly push-bunting) to get on base.
Nishioka has finished among the league leaders in stolen bases numerous times,[34] but was clocked at an only moderately fast 6.1 seconds in the 50-meter dash in high school and does not have blazing speed.
(Modern sabermetric theory suggests that a team's run production is only positively affected by stolen bases when a player is successful at a rate of at least 70 to 75 percent.
[36][37]) Nishioka has many attributes that make him a skilled shortstop, including quick reflexes, soft hands and an exceptional throwing arm (he clocked 142 km/h (88 mph) in his first pitch in an informal pre-game contest in 2006).