Tokyo Yakult Swallows infielder Shinya Miyamoto is set to announce that this season will be his last as a player, it was learned from informed sources on Sunday.
The 42-year-old, who reached Japan's major batting milestone of 2,000 hits last season, has won 10 Central League Golden Glove awards, six at shortstop and four at third base.
Miyamoto, who this year became a player-coach, is a career .282 hitter. He went into Sunday's game against the Hiroshima Carp batting .248 in 206 at-bats over 78 games. However, he has been used primarily as a pinch hitter since the middle of July. Miyamoto is scheduled to hold a press conference on Monday.
Miyamoto was the captain of Japan's bronze medal-winning team at the 2004 Athens Olympics, was on the 2006 World Baseball Classic championship team, and also played at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He won CL pennants with the Swallows in 1995, 1997 and 2001.