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Kento Itohara

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Kento Itohara
Hanshin Tigers – No. 33
Infielder
Born: (1992-11-11) November 11, 1992 (age 31)
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
NPB debut
April 1, 2017, for the Hanshin Tigers
NPB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Batting average.400
Home runs222
Hits389
RBI124
Stolen bases14
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Kento Itohara (糸原 健斗, Itohara Kento, born November 11, 1992) is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

Early baseball career

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Born and raised in Unnan City, Kento started playing ball in 2nd grade.[1] In his 1st year in Shimane Kaisei High, he recorded hits in 9 consecutive at bats in the Chuugoku regional tournaments.[2] His school made it to the Koshien national tournaments in his 2nd and 3rd year.[3] In their 1st round match against Sendai Ikuei High, despite hitting what would've been a winning 2-base hit in the 9th inning when they were just a point behind, the opposing defense caught Kento's hit and ended the game.[4] He hit a total of 29 home runs in high school.

He entered Meiji University and was a regular starter in the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League. He was awarded Best Nine as a 3rd baseman in his 3rd year.[5] He helped his team finish as runners-up in the Meiji Jingu Baseball Tournament in his 3rd and 4th year.[3] In 71 league games, he recorded a batting average of 0.229, 33 RBIs and 1 home run. He was one year ahead of soon-to-be Hanshin teammates Shun Takayama and Seishirō Sakamoto.[6]

When he went undrafted after graduation, he joined the Industrial Leagues under JX-ENEOS for two years. He debuted with a walk off hit, and finished his first season with .330 BA, and got to participate in the intercity tournaments. While his team didn't make it the following year, he joined Toshiba's team as a loaned player, and still got to play in the tournament, but didn't make it all the way to the championships.[1]

Hanshin Tigers

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He was the Tiger' 5th pick at the 2016 NPB Draft.[6] He signed with the Tigers for a contract of 50 million yen, and an annual salary of 8 million. He was given the jersey number 33.[7]

2017

He joined the main roster during spring training,[8] and competed with Hiroki Uemoto for the 2nd base post during the pre-season games.[9] He debuted on as a pinch hitter in the 6th inning during the April 1 game against the Carps in Mazda Stadium. He continued as a shortstop from then on, but Hanshin lost the game 9–8 due to a fielding error he committed in the 10th inning.[10] On the next day, he recorded his 1st hit on his 3rd at-bat from Carp pitcher Ryan Brasier.[11]

He made it to the starting line up as shortstop/7th batter on April 14, and from then on, alternated between being a pinch hitter and starter. His starts gradually increased in May, and on May 19, he became the first rookie in Central League history to reach base in ten consecutive trips to the plate.[12] On July 9, he went 5 for 4 against the Giants, and batted in 3 runs, including his first pro career homerun off Shun Yamaguchi in the 5th inning. His last RBI on that game was a two-base center field hit that won the game in the 9th inning, making it his first career walk-off hit.[13] His hitting streak continued for a couple more games, until he injured his right knee on July 19 when he lost his balance trying to catch a pop fly ball.[14] He was taken off the roster and went into rehab until the season ended. He got a chance to pinch-hit during the post-season play-offs, but Hanshin did not advance into the final round.[15] In 66 games, he finished with a batting average of 0.259, with 24 RBIs including 1 home run. This earned him an 8 million pay raise, bringing his annual salary to 16 million yen.[16]

2018

He competed with Toritani, Hojo and Nishioka for the main shortstop position during spring camp and the pre-season games.[17] He made it to the season opener as a shortstop,[18] but when Yusuke Oyama fell into a slump by the end of April, Itohara took over as third baseman.[19] He also alternated at second base when Uemoto got injured.[20] He continued to bat well, secured the lead-off position by June, and got selected for the mid-season All-Star games.[21] As the team went into a slump further into the season and players got injured one after the other, Itohara remained the only one who performed consistently both at the plate and at the field.[22] Even though he sustained an injury on October 8 when he got hit in the face with his own batted ball, he remained the only player to have appeared in all 143 games.[22] He topped the team with 152 hits, finished with a 0.286 average, and batted in 35 runs including a lone home run.[23] His overall performance more than doubled his paycheck, bringing his annual salary from 16 million to 40 million yen. He also got selected as the team captain for 2019.[24]

2019

This is the 2nd year he appeared in all of the team's 143 games. Despite having fewer plate appearances, a lower batting average and slugging percentage compared to 2018, he batted in 10 more runs this year. His season's highlights include hitting a walk-off hit and the team's only RBI against the Swallows on May 23,[25] and his first season's home run, a 3-run homer that won the game against Hiroshima in July 6.[26] He was once more selected as the team captain for 2020,[27] and received another 20 million raise, bringing his annual paycheck to 60 million yen.[28]

2020

He continued to appear in every game until a wrist injury on July 22 stopped his consecutive games streak at 312.[29] He underwent treatment and rehab afterwards, and resumed play after a few weeks. He finished the pandemic-shortened season with only 63 appearances (out of 120 games), albeit a higher batting average of 0.294. His fewer appearances earned him a 5 million pay cut.

Playing style

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Kento is a 175 cm infielder who has experience fielding as 2nd baseman, shortstop and third baseman. His right arm boasts a 110-meter throwing distance, while his 50-meter dash was clocked at 6.1 seconds.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "阪神ドラフト５位糸原がミスターばりに試合を決める". Nikkan Sports. December 5, 2016.
  2. ^ "金本監督の"秘蔵っ子"糸原健斗 大学後輩の高山らとプロ競演を熱望". Daily Sports. December 5, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "ＪＸ－ＥＮＥＯＳ初戦敗退…糸原、好機で凡退／日本選手権". Sankei Sports. December 5, 2016.
  4. ^ 楠淳生・中村健二『野球と実況中継』（2017年、彩流社）第3章「野球の実況とは」p.108に詳述
  5. ^ a b "阪神ドラ５糸原健斗、気持ちは社会人選手権へ". Daily Sports. December 5, 2016.
  6. ^ a b "阪神５位糸原、開幕一軍だ!高山、坂本へ先輩の意地]". Nikkan Sports. February 20, 2017.
  7. ^ "ドラ５・糸原が仮契約「背中でガッツを見せていきたい」". Daily Sports. December 5, 2016.
  8. ^ 2017年春季一軍キャンプメンバーについて Hanshin Tigers　February 20, 2017
  9. ^ "阪神ドラフト5位糸原 開幕一軍決定的 新人野手は鳥谷以来13年ぶり". Sports Nippon. March 29, 2017.
  10. ^ "阪神ドラ5糸原が代打でプロ初出場、初打席は死球". Nikkan Sports. April 1, 2017.
  11. ^ "阪神ドラ5糸原プロ初安打 狩野の言葉で切り替えた". Nikkan Sports. April 3, 2017.
  12. ^ "阪神ドラフト5位糸原セ新人最長記録の10打席連続出塁". Nikkan Sports. May 19, 2017.
  13. ^ "阪神ドラフト5位糸原 9回サヨナラ打 プロ1号含む4安打". Sports Nippon. July 9, 2017.
  14. ^ "阪神・糸原、右膝内側側副靱帯損傷と診断 出場選手登録を抹消". Sankei Sports. July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  15. ^ "阪神糸原3カ月ぶり安打 右膝靱帯損傷から復活". Nikkan Sports. October 15, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  16. ^ "糸原が年俸倍増の1600万でサイン「1年間戦えるような選手に」". Daily Sports. November 25, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  17. ^ "阪神糸原「コサリオ」襲名弾 遊撃争い猛アピールだ". Nikkan Sports. February 12, 2018.
  18. ^ "阪神・糸原健斗 さすが"コサリオ"!ただいまチームをけん引中／スタートダッシュに成功". Weekly Baseball. April 25, 2018.
  19. ^ "ついに大山外した…代役の糸原 プロ初三塁先発も4の0". Sports Nippon. April 30, 2018.
  20. ^ ""１番"効いた！阪神・糸原、満塁で２点適時打 (2/3ページ)". Sankei Sports. July 2, 2018.
  21. ^ "マイナビオールスターゲーム2018 出場者". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). July 3, 2018.
  22. ^ a b "阪神糸原全試合出場ピンチ 顔面に自打球、負傷交代". Nikkan Sports. October 9, 2018.
  23. ^ "阪神・糸原 ２年目全試合出場＆打率３割へ チーム唯一の"皆勤"さあラストスパート". Sports Nippon. October 1, 2018.
  24. ^ "阪神・糸原 来季キャプテン!来季3年目27歳は最速!最年少!". Sports Nippon. November 26, 2018.
  25. ^ "Kento Itohara delivers walk-off single as Tigers complete series sweep of Swallows". Japan Times. May 23, 2019.
  26. ^ "広島が3位転落、借金生活に…阪神は糸原の3ランでダメ押し". Sporting News JP. July 6, 2019.
  27. ^ "阪神糸原来季もキャプテン「より一層優勝したいと」". Nikkan Sports. November 24, 2019.
  28. ^ "阪神・糸原 2年連続全試合出場で2000万円増「優勝したい気持ちが強くなった」". Sports Nippon. December 4, 2019.
  29. ^ "【阪神】糸原健斗、右手有鈎（こう）骨の骨折で長期離脱へ…球団発表 連続試合出場は「３１２」でストップか". Sports Hochi. July 22, 2020.
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