1992–2004: Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes Drafted in , Nakamura began to emerge as one of the leading power hitters in
Nippon Professional Baseball in . From to , he had six consecutive 40-
home run, 100-
RBI seasons, setting career highs in
batting average (.320) homers (46) and RBI (132) in .
2002–2005: Dalliances with MLB In , he agreed to a two-year, $7 million contract with the
New York Mets, but, after word leaked out before he could formally notify the
Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes management, Nakamura rejected the deal, saying that "I cannot trust such a team which leaked this information at its own Web site" (not knowing that each team's site is managed by Major League Baseball), and re-signed with Kintetsu over considerable controversy. In , he suffered a torn knee cartilage, and his offensive numbers began to decline. However, he hit well while participating in a
spring training exchange program with the
Los Angeles Dodgers in . In , Nakamura walked away from a guaranteed $10 million two-year contract in Japan, primarily also in protest against Orix with the
Buffaloes-BlueWave merger that happened the previous offseason, to sign a $500,000 non-guaranteed minor league deal with the Dodgers as a
non-roster invitee to spring training. He made his
Major League Baseball debut for the Dodgers on April 10, . Highly touted from his playing days in Japan, he received the opportunity to win the Dodgers starting
third base role after
Adrián Beltré left the Dodgers in
free agency the previous offseason. However, Nakamura managed only a .128 batting average with no home runs and 3 runs batted in. He was optioned to the
Las Vegas 51s, the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate, by mid-May. He would remain with the 51s the remainder of the season, after which the Dodgers granted him his release. Just after being released, he said "If
Ichiro had started his career under [a] minor [league] contract like me, he couldn't be called up to [the] Major League[s]","This year is a kind of penalties for me", and "I don't know why I played in [the] minor league[s]".
2006: Orix Buffaloes In , Nakamura re-signed with the
Orix Buffaloes, playing primarily as a
designated hitter. He finished 2006 with .232 average, 12 homers and 45 RBI.
2007–2008: Chunichi Dragons Nakamura signed a one-year deal for just 4,000,000 yen (about $34,000) as a trainee with the
Chunichi Dragons on February 25, . He signed a one-year deal for 6,000,000 yen (about $50,000) as a player on March 22, 2007. His annual income declined due to many troubles, but he got over the shock and was crowned the MVP of the
2007 Japan Series, the only NPB championship of his career.
2009–2010: Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Nakamura originally anticipated becoming a
first baseman in to replace
Tyrone Woods, who left the Dragons after the season. However, he declared himself a
free agent and later signed with the
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles after the season ended.
Yokohama BayStars Nakamura signed a one-year contract with the
Yokohama BayStars on May 24, 2011, and was released on October 3, 2014. He officially retired in February 2015. ==Post-playing career==