Shogo Akiyama

Shogo Akiyama (秋山 翔吾, Akiyama Shōgo, Japanese pronunciation: [akʲijama ɕoːɣo], born April 16, 1988) is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Saitama Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Shogo Akiyama
Akiyama with the Saitama Seibu Lions
Cincinnati Reds – No. 4
Outfielder
Born: (1988-04-16) April 16, 1988
Yokosuka, Kanagawa
Bats: Left Throws: Right
Professional debut
NPB: April 12, 2011, for the Saitama Seibu Lions
MLB: July 24, 2020, for the Cincinnati Reds
NPB statistics
Batting average.301
Hits1,405
Home runs116
Runs batted in513
Stolen bases112
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Batting average.245
Home runs0
Runs batted in9
Teams
Career highlights and awards

NPB Records

  • Most hits in a single season (216) (2015)

Career

Saitama Seibu Lions
Akiyama batting for the Lions

Saitama Seibu Lions selected him with the third selection in the 2010 NPB draft.[1]

In 2015, Akiyama set the NPB record for hits in a single season with 216,[2] surpassing the 214 collected by Matt Murton of the Hanshin Tigers in 2010. He also batted a career-best .359 average for the year. In 2017, he led the NPB with a .322 average. Over the last 5 seasons of his career in NPB (2015–2019), Akiyama batted a .321 average[3] and appeared in 5 consecutive NPB All-Star games.

On October 29, 2019, Akiyama held a press conference to announce that he had filed for free agency for the rights to play overseas in Major League Baseball (MLB).[4]

Cincinnati Reds

On January 6, 2020, Akiyama signed a 3-year, $21 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds.[5] On July 24, 2020, Akiyama made his MLB debut.[6] During the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Akiyama hit .245/.357/.297 and made no defensive errors in 54 games.

International career

Akiyama represented the Japan national baseball team in the 2012 exhibition games against Cuba, 2013 exhibition games against Chinese Taipei, 2015 WBSC Premier12, 2016 exhibition games against Chinese Taipei, 2016 exhibition games against Mexico and Netherlands, 2017 World Baseball Classic and 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.[7]

On October 1, 2019, Akiyama was selected to the 2019 WBSC Premier12.[8] But on October 31, he broke his right toe due to a hit by pitch (HBP) in a practice game with Canada,[9] and he withdrew from the 2019 WBSC Premier12.[10]

References
  1. "埼玉西武ライオンズ 選択選手一覧". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  2. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2015/10/01/baseball/japanese-baseball/lions-akiyama-sets-single-season-hit-record/#.VrrIB1ZlxA9 Japan Times. Lions' Akiyama Sets Single Season Hits Mark. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  3. "Report: Reds sign Japanese star Shogo Akiyama". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  4. "秋山選手フリーエージェント(FA)権利行使についての会見". 埼玉西武ライオンズ 公式サイト (in Japanese). October 29, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  5. "Reds sign Japan's Shogo Akiyama to 3-year, $21M deal". www.espn.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  6. "秋山翔吾、メジャーデビュー初安打に同僚から祝福続々　シェービングクリームの洗礼". Full-Count (in Japanese). July 25, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  7. "「2018日米野球」出場選手6名、コーチングスタッフが決定". 野球日本代表 侍ジャパン オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). August 20, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  8. "「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.
  9. "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) 侍ジャパン秋山が右足に死球、５回守備で交代". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). October 31, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  10. "Japan national baseball team news (Japanese) 「ENEOS 侍ジャパンシリーズ2019」、「第2回 WBSC プレミア12」の日本チーム出場選手変更について". Japan national baseball team Official site (in Japanese). November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.