Akira Otsuka

Akira Otsuka (大塚 明)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 183 lb.
• High School Beppu Hamurodai High School
• Born April 28, 1975 in Beppu, Oita Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Akira Otsuka played for the Chiba Lotte Marines from 1997 to 2010, usually in a reserve role.

Otsuka was a third-round pick in the 1993 NPB draft, as an infielder. He made 34 errors as a minor league infielder in 1994 but had more success defensively when he was moved to the outfield. In 1997, he led the minor Eastern League in steals. He made his debut with the top team, getting his first hit June 29 off Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi and his first homer August 30 off the same hurler. He hit .189/.267/.358 in 62 plate appearances over 28 games in the Pacific League that year. He was 1 for 2 in 1998 then played a career-high 107 games in 1999, hitting .220/.265/.312 in 246 plate appearances.

In 2000, he produced at a .239/.280/.420 clip with nine homers and 14 steals in 18 tries, setting highs in home runs, RBI (44) and swipes. He tied Tatsuya Ide and Hiroshi Narahara for 7th in the PL in steals. He was Chiba Lotte's #4 outfielder. He was steady at .250/.272/.431 in 2001, tying for 8th in the league with three triples. He fell to .186/.205/.302 in reduced action in 2002. His time continued to drop in 2003; he eked out a .139/.158/.222 line in 38 plate appearances over 13 games. In 2004, he rebounded to .272/.330/.457 in 90 plate appearances and 32 games.

He was part of a busy outfield mix in 2005, fighting for time with Saburo Omura, Matt Franco, Kenji Morozumi, Benny Agbayani, Seung-yeop Lee and Val Pascucci. He was second in that group with 93 games and played strong defense with no errors in 146 chances to lead the PL. He had his best season at the plate as well at .293/.355/.502 with 19 doubles and 8 homers in 256 plate appearances. He was 1 for 4 with two runs in the 2005 Japan Series, backing up Omura in center. He slipped to .242/.291/.308 in 2006 but got his first sayonara hit. He only 7-for-46 with six walks in 2007. In 2008, he hit .266/.327/.432 as a solid bench player. He was 0 for 2 in 2009 then spent 2010 in the minors.

Perhaps his best campaign was 2005, when he hit .293/.355/.502 with 8 home runs and 32 RBI in 96 games. Overall, he batted .247/.295/.391 with 39 home runs, 197 RBI, 431 hits and 245 runs scored in 799 games over 14 seasons.

He then went into coaching for the Marines, making it to the top team in 2012. He has been a baserunning and outfield coach.