Seiya Suzuki

Seiya Suzuki (鈴木 誠也, Suzuki Seiya, born August 18, 1994 in Arakawa, Tokyo, Japan) is a professional Japanese baseball outfielder for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Suzuki is a four-time NPB All-Star, four-time NPB Best Nine Award winner, and a three-time winner of the Gold Glove Award.

Seiya Suzuki
Suzuki with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Hiroshima Toyo Carp – No. 1
Outfielder
Born: (1994-08-18) August 18, 1994
Arakawa, Tokyo, Japan
Bats: Right Throws: Right
debut
September 14, 2013, for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
2020 season statistics
Batting average.314
Hits799
Home runs144
Runs batted in474
Runs471
Stolen bases73
Teams
Career highlights and awards
NPB
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Japan
WBSC Premier12
2019 Tokyo Team

Professional career

Draft

The Carp drafted Suzuki in the 2nd round of the 2012 NPB draft.[1] He was mainly a pitcher during his high school career and was drafted as such, but switched to an infielder upon joining the team. Suzuki was given #51 as his uniform number.[2]

2013

Suzuki made his NPB debut on September 14 at the age of 19[3] and appeared in 11 games,[4] spending most of the season in the farm system.

2014

Suzuki continued to spend most of the season in the farm system, playing 36 games with a batting average of .344, an on-base percentage of .382, and a slugging percentage of .500.[4]

2015

Prior to the 2015 season, the Carp changed Suzuki's position designation from an infielder to an outfielder.[5] Suzuki started the season with a spot on the opening day starting lineup,[6] and eventually played in 97 games, hitting 5 home runs with a batting average of .275, an on-base percentage of .329, and a slugging percentage of .403.[4]

2016

Suzuki couldn't make the 2016 opening day roster due to a hamstring strain he suffered during spring training,[7] and returned to the team on April 5.[8] Suzuki made his first NPB All-Star Series appearance this year,[9] recording his first hit on the 1st game of the series,[10] and his first RBI on the 2nd.[11] Suzuki led the team in batting average (.335), home runs (29) and OPS (1.016),[12] winning the Gold Glove Award[13] and the Best Nine Award.[14] He had also helped drive the Carp to their first pennant in twenty five years.

2017

Suzuki made his second consecutive All-Star appearance, receiving the most votes among Central League outfielders.[15] On August 23, Suzuki left the game due to an ankle injury. Six days later, the Carp announced that he underwent surgery to treat a malleolar fracture on his right tibia and a deltoid ligament injury, ending his 2017 season.[16] He finished the season batting .300/.389/.547 with 26 home runs, 90 RBIs and 16 stolen bases,[4] and led the Central League with a .936 OPS.[17]

End of the season awards for Suzuki included his second consecutive Gold Glove Award[18] and Best Nine Award.[19]

2018

On April 4, 2018, Suzuki was removed from the roster after experiencing muscle stiffness in his lower body. He was reactivated on the 18th.[20] Suzuki was named for his third consecutive NPB All-Star Series,[21] and marked his first All-Star game home run off of Yusei Kikuchi.[22]

Suzuki finished the season batting .320/.438/.618, with 30 home runs and 94 RBIs.[4] The Carp won their third consecutive Central League pennant that year,[23] and went on to face the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the Japan Series. While his team lost the series,[24] Suzuki hit 10-for-22 (.455) with 3 home runs and 6 RBIs during the Japan Series.[25]

Suzuki won his third consecutive Best Nine Award.[26] On November 19, the team announced that Suzuki's uniform number would be changed to #1.[27]

2019

Suzuki was named for his fourth consecutive NPB All-Star Series after receiving the most votes among all Central League players.[28] On July 13, he won the 2019 NPB Home Run Derby, defeating Orix Buffaloes outfielder Masataka Yoshida 4-3 in the final round.[29]

For the season, Suzuki appeared in a career-high 140 games, leading the NPB in batting average (.335), OBP (.453), OPS (1.018) with 112 runs scored (1st in the Central League), 28 home runs (9th), 87 RBIs (9th), 25 stolen bases (4th).[30][31] After the season, Suzuki was awarded his fourth consecutive Best Nine Award[32] and his third Gold Glove.[33]

International career

Suzuki represented the Japan national baseball team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic and 2019 WBSC Premier12.

On October 1, 2019, he was selected at the 2019 WBSC Premier12.[34] He was named the tournament MVP, after leading the tournament with a .478 batting average, .567 OBP, 1.130 slugging percentage, two triples, 9 runs, and 12 RBIs and tying for the lead with 11 hits and three home runs.[35]

Personal life

Suzuki married former Olympic rhythmic gymnast Airi Hatakeyama on December 7, 2019.[36]

He went to the same middle school as Japanese actress Seika Furuhata, and knew each other through a mutual friend.[37]

References
  1. "2012ドラフト指名選手一覧". 日本経済新聞 電子版 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  2. "広島ドラ２鈴木"赤イチロー"誕生か - ドラフト会議2012ニュース". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  3. "【広島】ドラフト２位鈴木誠プロデビュー - プロ野球ニュース". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  4. "Seiya Suzuki Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  5. "鈴木誠也外野手・守備に開眼した21歳の若武者". 週刊ベースボールONLINE (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  6. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "Friday, March 27, 2015 (Scores) Hiroshima vs Yakult". npb.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  7. "鈴木誠也も離脱…ハムストリング筋挫傷/デイリースポーツ online". デイリースポーツ online (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  8. "鈴木「刺激を与える」５日に１軍昇格/デイリースポーツ online". デイリースポーツ online (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  9. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "出場者 | マツダオールスターゲーム2016". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  10. "広島鈴木誠也、球宴でも「神ってる」ミラクル初安打 - 野球 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  11. "広島鈴木、球宴でもセイヤ！また神った敢闘選手賞 - 野球 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  12. "2016 Hiroshima Carp Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  13. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "三井ゴールデン・グラブ賞 | 2016年 表彰選手". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  14. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "投票結果（ベストナイン） | 2016年 表彰選手". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  15. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "ファン投票結果 | マイナビオールスターゲーム2017". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  16. "広島鈴木誠也が今季復帰絶望 右足手術で全治３カ月 - 野球 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  17. "2017 Japan Central League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  18. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "三井ゴールデン・グラブ賞 | 2017年 表彰選手". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  19. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "セントラル・リーグ表彰 | 2017年 表彰選手". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  20. "広島鈴木誠也19日ぶり出場で代打安打、激勝に一役 - プロ野球 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  21. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "ファン投票結果 | マイナビオールスターゲーム2018". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  22. "鈴木が球宴初本塁打 ３度目の出場で西武・菊池から中越え弾/デイリースポーツ online". デイリースポーツ online (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  23. Author, No (2018-09-26). "Carp rout Swallows to clinch third straight Central League pennant". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  24. "Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks win second NPB’s Japan Series in a row". wbsc.org. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  25. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "2018年度 広島東洋カープ 個人打撃成績（日本シリーズ）". npb.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  26. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "投票結果（ベストナイン） | 2018年 表彰選手". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  27. "広島・鈴木誠也が背番号「１」に変更 前田智徳氏以来に「期待に応えられるように」 – 東京スポーツ新聞社". 東スポＷeb – 東京スポーツ新聞社 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  28. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "ファン投票結果 | マイナビオールスターゲーム2019". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  29. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "「マイナビオールスターゲーム2019」ホームランダービー優勝は鈴木誠也（広島東洋）". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  30. "2019 Japan Pacific League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  31. "2019 Japan Central League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  32. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "投票結果（ベストナイン） | 2019年 表彰選手". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  33. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "三井ゴールデン・グラブ賞 | 2019年 表彰選手". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  34. "「ENEOS 侍ジャパンシリーズ2019」出場選手決定について". 野球日本代表 侍ジャパン オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  36. "広島鈴木誠也と畠山愛理ハワイ挙式！遠距離も愛育む - プロ野球 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  37. 古畑星夏、女優業で飛躍の年　広島・ 鈴木誠也先輩にあやかりたい！ デイリー
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