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Seiya Suzuki

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Seiya Suzuki
Suzuki with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 2013
Chicago Cubs – No. 27
Outfielder
Born: (1994-08-18) August 18, 1994 (age 30)
Arakawa, Tokyo, Japan
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Professional debut
NPB: September 14, 2013, for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
MLB: April 7, 2022, for the Chicago Cubs
NPB statistics
(through 2021 season)
Batting average.315
Hits937
Home runs182
Runs batted in562
Stolen bases82
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.278
Hits396
Home runs55
Run batted in193
Stolen bases31
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards
NPB
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Japan
Summer Olympics
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team
WBSC Premier12
Gold medal – first place 2019 Tokyo Team

Seiya Suzuki (鈴木 誠也, Suzuki Seiya, Japanese pronunciation: [sɯ̥dzɯꜜkʲi̥ seːꜜja], born August 18, 1994) is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Suzuki is a five-time NPB All-Star, six-time NPB Best Nine Award winner, and a five-time winner of the NPB Golden Glove Award.

Seiya Suzuki is the third Cubs player in the last 100 seasons to start his career with an 8-game hitting streak, joining Andy Pafko (9 in 1943) and Joe Munson (8 in 1925). He is the second Japanese player with an 8-game hit streak to begin his MLB career.

Professional career

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Hiroshima Toyo Carp (2013–21)

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2013–2014: Minor leagues

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The Hiroshima Toyo Carp drafted Suzuki in the second 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]

Suzuki made his NPB debut on September 14, 2013, at the age of 19[3] and appeared in 11 games,[4] spending most of the season in the farm system.

Suzuki continued to spend most of the 2014 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: Switch to outfield

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Before 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: Emergence

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Suzuki could not 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: Continued success

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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: Face of the Carp

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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: First CL batting title

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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]

2020: COVID-19 season

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In the COVID-19-affected 2020 season, Suzuki played in 118 games for Hiroshima, slashing .300/.409/.544 with 25 home runs and 75 RBI. Following the season, Suzuki was awarded his fourth career Central League Golden Glove Award and his fifth career Best Nine Award.[citation needed]

2021: Second CL batting title

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In 2021, Suzuki played in 132 games for the Carp, setting a career-high in home runs, with 38, to go along with 88 RBI and a .317/.433/.636 slash line. Suzuki was the Central League batting champion and on-base percentage leader and was named a NPB All-Star for the fifth time in his career. He was also awarded his fifth career Central League Golden Glove Award and sixth career, and sixth straight Best Nine Award.

Chicago Cubs (2022–present)

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2022: First season in the MLB

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Following the 2021 season, on November 22, 2021, Suzuki was posted by Hiroshima and made available to all 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, opening a 30-day period to negotiate a contract.[34] However, due to the 2021–22 MLB lockout, Suzuki's 30-day posting window was paused.[35] On March 18, 2022, Suzuki officially agreed to a five-year contract worth $85 million.[36] He went .235/ .350 / .558 with 2 home runs, 4 hits, and 10 total bases during the 2022 Spring Training. Suzuki made his Cubs debut on April 7, 2022, working a full-count walk against Corbin Burnes in his first MLB plate appearance. He was the first Cub to make their MLB debut as an Opening Day starter since Kosuke Fukudome in 2008.[37] Suzuki collected his first major league hit in the 5th inning of that game, a line drive single to shallow left field off of Burnes.[38] On April 10, he hit his first major league home run, a three-run shot off of Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta.[39] Suzuki was awarded the National League Player of the Week award for April 11-17, a span in which he batted .412 (7-17) with 5 runs, 3 home runs, 5 RBI, and an OPS of 1.604. Suzuki was also named the NL Rookie of the Month for April.[40] He injured his left ring finger while stealing second base on May 26 against the Cincinnati Reds and was placed on the 10-day injured list (IL).[41] After three injury rehabilitation games with Iowa, he returned for the first time in 39 days on July 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers.[42]

International career

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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.[43] 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.[44]

On June 16, 2021, he was selected to Team Japan for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[45]

Player profile

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Suzuki is a 5 ft 11 in, 182 lb (1.80 m, 82 kg) outfielder that is considered a five-tool player due to his high batting averages, home run totals, baserunning, fielding abilities, and throwing abilities. He posted a career .315 batting average in NPB and won the league's batting title in 2019 with a .335 average. In his final five seasons with Hiroshima, Suzuki hit at least 25 home runs, including a career-high 38 in 2021. A month into his rookie season with Chicago, Suzuki averaged a 28.6 feet per second sprint speed, ranking 12th in the major leagues at the time and first among right fielders.[46] Suzuki also pitched while in high school, reaching 92 miles per hour (148 km/h) on his fastball.[47]

Suzuki has received player comparisons to A. J. Pollock as well as Mike Trout, the latter of which he chose his jersey number 27 in honor of.[48]

Personal life

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Suzuki married former Olympic rhythmic gymnast Airi Hatakeyama on December 7, 2019.[49]

He went to the same middle school as Japanese actress Seika Furuhata and knew each other through a mutual friend.[50]

Career statistics

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Hitting

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Year Team G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI SB CS SAC SF BB IBB HBP SO GIDP AVG OBP SLG OPS
2013 Hiroshima 11 14 12 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 .083 .214 .083 .298
2014 36 68 64 6 22 7 0 1 32 7 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 13 2 .344 .382 .500 .882
2015 97 238 211 21 58 6 3 5 85 25 6 7 7 2 16 0 2 38 3 .275 .329 .403 .742
2016 129 528 466 76 156 26 8 29 285 95 16 11 3 3 53 1 3 79 10 .335 .404 .612 1.015
2017 115 512 437 85 131 28 1 26 239 90 16 6 0 7 62 0 6 80 12 .300 .389 .547 .936
2018 124 520 422 86 135 32 2 30 261 94 4 4 0 5 88 2 5 116 4 .320 .438 .618 1.057
2019 140 612 499 112 167 31 0 28 282 87 25 16 0 3 103 12 7 81 3 .335 .453 .565 1.018
2020 118 514 430 85 129 26 2 25 234 75 6 4 0 3 72 9 9 73 15 .300 .409 .544 .953
2021 132 533 435 77 138 26 0 38 278 88 9 4 0 5 87 11 6 88 7 .317 .433 .639 1.072
2022 CHC 111 446 397 54 104 22 2 14 172 46 9 5 0 3 42 3 4 110 8 .262 .336 .433 .770
2023 138 583 515 75 147 31 6 20 250 74 6 7 0 7 59 3 2 130 8 .285 .357 .485 .842
2024 132 585 512 74 145 27 6 21 247 73 16 6 0 4 63 3 6 160 6 .274 .351 .479 .830
NPB totals 902 3,539 2,976 548 937 182 16 182 1,697 562 82 52 10 28 486 35 39 569 57 .283 .366 .482 .848
MLB totals 381 1,614 1,424 203 396 80 14 55 669 193 31 18 0 14 164 9 12 400 22 .278 .354 .470 .824

Fielding

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Year Team 3B Outfielder RF
G PO A E DP FPCT G PO A E DP FPCT G PO A E DP FPCT
2013 Hiroshima - 4 4 0 0 0 1.000 -
2014 3 0 2 1 0 .667 21 11 1 0 0 1.000 -
2015 - 77 91 2 1 0 .989 -
2016 - 127 211 3 2 1 .991 -
2017 - 115 209 10 6 2 .973 -
2018 - 116 180 8 4 3 .979 -
2019 - 139 242 6 3 1 .988 -
2020 - 118 210 8 2 0 .991 -
2021 - 125 254 13 3 4 .989 -
2022 CHC - - 106 201 3 4 2 .981
2023 - - 132 221 2 3 1 .987
2024 - - 72 150 5 3 3 .981
NPB totals 3 0 2 1 0 .667 842 1412 51 21 11 .986 -
MLB totals - - 310 572 10 10 6 .983


References

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  1. ^ "2012ドラフト指名選手一覧". 日本経済新聞 電子版 (in Japanese). October 25, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Seiya Suzuki Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  12. ^ "2016 Hiroshima Carp Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  17. ^ "2017 Japan Central League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  23. ^ "Carp rout Swallows to clinch third straight Central League pennant". The Japan Times. September 26, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  24. ^ "Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks win second NPB's Japan Series in a row". wbsc.org. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  30. ^ "2019 Japan Pacific League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  31. ^ "2019 Japan Central League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  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 May 18, 2020.
  34. ^ Harrigan, Thomas (November 21, 2021). "Slugging OF Seiya Suzuki to be posted". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  35. ^ Anderson, R.J. (December 8, 2021). "MLB lockout: How work stoppage impacts Seiya Suzuki and other NPB players coming to MLB". CBSSports.com. Paramount Global. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  36. ^ Bastian, Jordan (March 18, 2022). "Seiya Suzuki signs 5-year deal with Cubs". MLB.com. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  37. ^ Montemurro, Meghan [@M_Montemurro] (April 7, 2022). "Seiya Suzuki works a full-count walk vs. Corbin Burnes in his first big-league plate appearance" (Tweet). Retrieved April 7, 2022 – via Twitter.
  38. ^ @MLB (April 7, 2022). "Save that baseball! @suzuki_seiya_sb collects the first hit of his MLB career!" (Tweet). Retrieved April 7, 2022 – via Twitter.
  39. ^ "Cubs' Seiya Suzuki demolishes first MLB home run with 412-foot shot vs. Brewers". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  40. ^ Murphy, Brian (May 1, 2022). "Suzuki, Kwan are top April rookies". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  41. ^ Ladson, Bill (June 13, 2022). "Suzuki return delayed as finger remains swollen". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  42. ^ "Cubs activate OF Seiya Suzuki from 10-day injured list, option Narciso Crook to Triple-A Iowa". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  43. ^ "「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.
  44. ^ "Japan's Seiya Suzuki leads amazing All World Team".
  45. ^ "東京オリンピック内定選手決定について". 野球日本代表 侍ジャパン オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  46. ^ Altman, Evan (April 20, 2022). "Seiya Suzuki Playing Like Cheat-Code Version of Rock Paper Scissors". Cubs Insider. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  47. ^ Hernandez, Dylan (August 2, 2021). "Column: Japanese baseball star Seiya Suzuki is MLB-ready, invites comparison to A.J. Pollock". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  48. ^ Bastian, Jordan (March 18, 2022). "'Mike Trout, I love you': Suzuki the No. 1 fan of No. 27". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  49. ^ "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 May 18, 2020.
  50. ^ 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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