Nobumasa Fukuda

For the 2018 season, Fukuda replaced Yudai Ono as player chairman at the beginning of the year and was a regular at third base throughout the season where he passed the stipulate at-bats to be considered for post-season awards. It also marked his first 100 hit season. He hit 14 homeruns with a slash line of .261/.322/.405 playing in 133 games.

With former Chicago White Sox major leaguer, Dayan Viciedo joining the team as first baseman in 2016, Fukuda found most of his appearances at third base after Shuhei Takahashi's injury in April and then later in left field. With Viciedo's injury toward the end of season, he also saw time at first base and fourth in the order where he ended the season with 10 homeruns.

From spring training in 2015, Fukuda changed his batting form and hit 4 homeruns and a league top 13 RBIs in pre-season fixtures where he made the opening day roster for the first time in 3 years. Due to an injury to opening day first baseman, Masahiko Morino, Fukuda made his first seasons start on March 31 against the Yomiuri Giants where he raked 3 hits, 2 RBIs and a homerun. From April, Fukuda was given more opportunities at first-base. On 21 June, it was announced that the Dragons cheering section had created a personalized song and from 23 June became common use. In the middle of the season, his result as a pinch-hitter declined but he was able to play in a personal best 79 games and hit 6 homeruns. During the season pre-match practice, Fukuda was also seen practicing in left field. On 13 November, Fukuda signed an improved contact deal increasing ¥8,500,000 to ¥15,000,000.

In 2013 Fukuda's playing time was limited to 4 appearance in the first team where he averaged .286 in 7 at-bats. On the farm, Fukuda would average just .234, hitting two homeruns in 58 games.

After working well in the build-up to the 2011 season, he was on the opening day roster as a right-handed pinch-hitter. He continued as a pinch hitter from opening day and on 13 April, hit his second pro homerun off the pitching of Yokohama DeNA Baystars reliever Shintaro Ejiri. His form would continue and on 15 April he hit his 3rd pro homerun, once again as a pinch hitter, off the pitching of Hanshin Tigers reliever Kyuji Fujikawa. However, in the next 5 plate appearances he would fail to register a hit leading him to being dropped to the farm. He would return to the first team in October where he would make his first Japan Series appearance.

In 2010 open and practice games, Fukuda was entrusted at 4th in the line-up where he hit .316 with 7 homeruns however his season with the first team would end with only 15 appearances made.

In spring camp, Fukuda was once again invited to train with the first team but injured his calf in practice where he was then demoted to the farm team to recover. He was the Western League monthly MVP in June and in July he was brought up to the first team. On 7 July 2009, Fukuda made his debut against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows pinch hitting for Kenichi Nakata at Meiji Jingu Stadium and became the 49th player in NPB history to hit a home-run in his first at-bat. He made his first field appearance as a substitute for an injured Tony Blanco at first base on 31 July however poor hitting as a pinch-hitter thereafter led to his demotion to the farm in August.

In 2008 spring camp, Fukuda became the roommate of Dragons stalwart Masahiro Yamamoto. At the request of manager, Hiromitsu Ochiai he was told to completely convert to first base. However, this did not result in any first-team appearances. Other members of his draft class Naomichi Donoue, Kyohei Iwasaki and Akinobu Shimizu however all saw time in the first team which left Fukuda to be the only member of his class to not have made an appearacne in the top team. However, he made more appearances with the farm team batting 4th marking his improvement by hitting a homerun off former major leaguer Kazuhisa Ishii in the fall Phoenix League.

Rated because of his 49 career high school homeruns, he was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2006 NPB Draft high school player round by the Chunichi Dragons and on 11 November signed a provisional contract with a ¥50,000,000 sign-on bonus and a ¥5,400,000 yearly salary.

Out of the Dragons draftees taken in 2006, Fukuda's batting was rated the highest and as such he was invited to train with the first team in Spring Camp. He was subsequently invited to an Olympic preparation tournament by then manager Hiromitsu Ochiai. He was expected to be third string catcher behind Motonobu Tanishige and Kohei Oda but due to the existence of fellow rookie Daisuke Tanaka he finished the farm season making only 9 appearances and failing to register a hit. In order to increase his chance of appearing on the field he was instructed to convert to an infielder and in the off-season started training as a first baseman.

Nobumasa Fukuda (福田永将 , Fukuda Nobumasa, born July 23, 1988 in Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan) is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

Fukuda entered Yokohama High School based on his hitting abilities and sat on the bench in spring of his freshman year. As a catcher, he would later form a battery with Hideaki Wakui, 2 years his senior and alongside other future pro, Takehiro Ishikawa qualified for the Japanese High School Baseball Championship. While he was a regular, as it was his first year he was often changed out toward the end of games in important situations. From spring of his junior year he was installed at 4th in the batting order. At the 78th Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament he performed duties at clean-up alongside Takuya Takahama and Kenji Sato. He led the team to victory as captain. In summer of the same year, Yokohama High was expected to be title favorites for the 88th Summer Championship but where beaten by a Sho Nakata lead Osaka Tōin High School 6-11 on the first day of play with Fukuda failing to register a hit.