Hideto Asamura
| Hideto Asamura | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Asamura with the Saitama Seibu Lions | |||
| Saitama Seibu Lions – No. 32 | |||
| Infielder | |||
|
Born: November 12, 1990 Osaka, Japan | |||
| |||
| NPB debut | |||
| March 31, 2010, for the Saitama Seibu Lions | |||
| NPB statistics (through 2016) | |||
| Batting average | .282 | ||
| Hits | 836 | ||
| RBIs | 419 | ||
| Home runs | 96 | ||
| Teams | |||
| |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
|
1 x Best Nine Award (2013) 1 x Golden Glove Award (2013) 1 x Pacific League RBI leader (2013) | |||
| Last update: November 15, 2015 | |||
Hideto Asamura (浅村 栄斗 Asamura Hideto, born November 12, 1990) is a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball player with the Saitama Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League.
Early life
Asamura attended Osaka Tōin High School and contributed to the school's victory at the 2008 national championships.[1] He hit a total of 22 home runs during his three years of high school, including one in his final at bat for the school in October 2008.[1] He was drafted by the Lions in the third round of the 2008 rookie draft.[2]
Professional career
After spending 2009 with the Lions' farm team in the Eastern League, Asamura was a part of the first-team squad at the start of the 2010 season.[3] In 2011 he spent the entire year as a starting member of the team. However, his fielding position was not constant, including stints in the outfield. In the month of October he recorded a batting average of .460 and won the Monthly MVP award.[4] In 2012 he again started the year with the first-team squad, but poor batting form saw him relegated to the farm team in late May. He became the team's leadoff hitter in August following an injury to Takumi Kuriyama.
In 2013, his fourth year as a professional and at age 23, Asamura tied the record for the youngest person in Japanese baseball history to record 100 RBIs in a season.[5] He finished the year leading the Pacific League with 110 RBIs.[6]
Asamura started the 2014 season as the Lions' number 4 batter due to Takeya Nakamura's absence because of injury. After the first 15 games batting in this position, he led his team with a .333 batting average, 4 home runs and 16 RBIs.[7] On 21 May 2014, Asamura collided with a teammate in a match against the Yomiuri Giants. In the following days he started to feel pain in his left knee but continued as a starter until June 4.[8] He eventually succumbed to the injury and was removed from the Lions' roster on June 5;[8] he missed 6 weeks of play before returning just prior to the All-Star break as a pinch hitter on 15 July.[9] At the time of his injury he was leading the Lions in both home runs and RBIs[10] but struggled upon his return, finishing the season with only half of the RBIs he scored in the previous year. He described 2014 as a "miserable season in all facets".[11] At the end of the season he underwent surgery on his left shoulder.[12]
Asamura had a limited pre-season but was at full health for the start of the 2015 season;[12] he maintained his fitness and missed only 2 of the Lions' 143 games. He scored 81 RBIs in the season but his 13 home runs remained low when compared to the 27 hit in 2013. In September 2015 Asamura was included in the 45-man squad that was selected to represent Japan at the 2015 WBSC Premier12 tournament in Taiwan,[13] however was not included in the final 28-man roster that was announced in October.[14]
References
- 1 2 "大阪桐蔭・浅村、高校有終アーチ…おおいた国体" [Osaka Toin's Asamura, home run at final high school match – Ōita National Festival] (in Japanese). 2 October 2008. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ↑ "2008年 ドラフト会議開催！" [2008 draft has been held!] (in Japanese). 30 October 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ↑ "２０１０年開幕ベンチ入りメンバー発表" [2010 season opening squad members announcement] (in Japanese). 19 March 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ↑ "浅村 初受賞に驚き「苦しい時期 今になったらいい経験」" [Asamura's surprised with first award "Looking now, tough times were good experience"] (in Japanese). 1 November 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ↑ "Ｖ阻止ならずも西武ＣＳ争い手応え ３位と１差" [Unable to prevent pennant win, Seibu turns to Climax Series, 1 game difference with 3rd place] (in Japanese). 26 September 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ↑ "【西武】浅村が打点王「感謝したい」" [(Seibu) Asamura RBI King "I'm grateful"] (in Japanese). 13 October 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ↑ "西武４番浅村が満弾＆ソロ 連敗止めた" [Seibu #4 Asamura's grand slam & solo ends the losing streak] (in Japanese). 18 April 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- 1 2 "西武の浅村、２年ぶり登録抹消 味方と交錯、ひざ痛める" [Seibu's Asamura scratched for the first time in 2 years: Knee pain following collision with teammate] (in Japanese). 5 June 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ↑ "西武・浅村が戦列復帰！「いつも以上に緊張した」" [Seibu's Asamura returns to the front line "I was more nervous than usual"] (in Japanese). 15 July 2014. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ↑ "【西武】浅村、左膝じん帯損傷！５月２１日巨人戦で負傷…３日抹消も" [(Seibu) Asamura's left knee ligament injury! Injured in Giants match May 21, scratched on June 3] (in Japanese). 3 June 2014. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ↑ "浅村栄斗選手がドラフト時の思い出と2014年の振り返り" [Hideto Asamura recalls when he was drafted and reflects on 2014] (in Japanese). 21 February 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- 1 2 "西武 12球団唯一開幕４連勝！大阪桐蔭コンビ森＆浅村"燃えた"全打点" [Seibu only team to start season with 4 wins – Osaka Toin combination Mori & Asamura "fire" for all RBIs] (in Japanese). 1 April 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ↑ "「WBSC世界野球プレミア12」侍ジャパントップチーム候補選手45名を発表" ["2015 WBSC Premier12" Samurai Japan top 45 candidates announced] (in Japanese). 10 September 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ↑ "出場選手 トップチーム" [Participating players – Top Team] (in Japanese). October 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Minors)