| Shogo Akiyama | |||||||||||||||
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 Akiyama with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp | |||||||||||||||
| Hiroshima Toyo Carp – No. 9 | |||||||||||||||
| Outfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1988-04-16)April 16, 1988 (age 36) Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan | |||||||||||||||
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 (through 2024 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .297 | ||||||||||||||
| Hits | 1,723 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 129 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 607 | ||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .224 | ||||||||||||||
| Hits | 71 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 21 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
NPB records
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Medals
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Shogo Akiyama (秋山 翔吾,Akiyama Shōgo,Japanese pronunciation:[akiꜜjamaɕoꜜːɡo], born April 16, 1988) is a Japanese professionalbaseballoutfielder for theHiroshima Toyo Carp ofNippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theCincinnati Reds and in NPB for theSaitama Seibu Lions.
TheSaitama Seibu Lions ofNippon Professional Baseball (NPB) selected Akiyama with the third selection in the2010 NPB draft.[1]
In 2015, Akiyama set theNPB record for hits in a single season with 216,[2] surpassing the 214 collected byMatt Murton of theHanshin 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 inMajor League Baseball (MLB).[4]
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On January 6, 2020, Akiyama signed a three-year, $21 million contract with theCincinnati Reds. At the time, the Reds were the last team to have never had a Japanese-born player play for them.[5] On July 24, 2020, Akiyama made his MLB debut.[6] During thepandemic-shortened 2020 season, Akiyama hit .245/.357/.297 and made no defensive errors in 54 games. He was released by the Reds on April 5, 2022.[7]
On April 30, 2022, Akiyama signed a minor league contract with theSan Diego Padres. In 16 games for theTriple-AEl Paso Chihuahuas, he batted .343/.378/.529 with three home runs and 21runs batted in (RBIs). On June 16, Akiyama opted out of his contract and was released by the Padres organization.[8]
On June 27, 2022, Akiyama signed a three-year contract with theHiroshima Toyo Carp of NPB.[9] Akiyama was given uniform number 9, which was once worn by the legendary player and former manager of the Carp,Koichi Ogata. In 2022, Akiyama played in 44 games as an outfielder and batted .265 with five home runs and 26 RBIs.[10]
On April 15, 2023, Akiyama hit a game-ending home run (Sayonara home run) in the ninth inning, giving the Carp a 5–4 win overYakult Swallows. It was the first game-ending home run for Akiyama in almost 11 years.[11] He played in 115 games for the Carp in 2023, hitting .274/.333/.376 with four home runs, 38 RBI, and eight stolen bases. Following the season on October 31, Akiyama underwent surgery to remove part of thelateral meniscus in his right knee.[12]
Akiyama represented theJapan national baseball team in the 2012 exhibition games againstCuba, 2013 exhibition games againstChinese Taipei,2015 WBSC Premier12, 2016 exhibition games against Chinese Taipei, 2016 exhibition games againstMexico andNetherlands,2017 World Baseball Classic and2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.[13]
On October 1, 2019, Akiyama was selected to the 2019 WBSC Premier12.[14] But on October 31, he broke his right toe due to ahit by pitch (HBP) in a practice game withCanada,[15] and he withdrew from the 2019 WBSC Premier12.[16]
