Chiaki Sadaoka

Chiaki Sadaoka (定岡 智秋)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 178 lb.

• High School Kagoshima Jitsugyo High School

• Born June 17, 1953 in Kagoshima, Kagoshima Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Chiaki Sadaoka was a 3-time All-Star in Nippon Pro Baseball. His brothers were NPB pitcher Shoji Sadaoka and outfielder Tetsuhisa Sadaoka, and his son was NPB outfielder Takuma Sadaoka.

Sadaoka was drafted by the Nankai Hawks in the 3rd round of the 1971 NPB draft, and he spent his first three seasons primarily in the NPB Farm Leagues, only playing 15 games combined with the big club. His first NPB hit was a homer off Shigeo Ishii. When Yoshiyuki Sano left the team in 1975, Sadaoka was named their new starting shortstop, and he hit .189/.259/.249 in 97 games. Although his batting was weak, he still managed to attended the 1975 NPB All-Star Games with his elite defense; he was 1-for-1 with a single against Hiromu Matsuoka in the 9th inning of Game 3. Sadaoka then improved to .238/.274/.356 in 1976, and he was 1-for-2 in the 1976 NPB All-Star Games.

The Kagoshima native hit .217/.269/.333 in 1977, and he was selected into the 1977 NPB All-Star Games; he was 0-for-1. Sadaoka then had a .227/.273/.293 batting line in 1978, and he blasted 11 homers with a .247/.280/.392 batting line in 1979. He crushed a career-high 13 homers with a .241/.295/.389 batting line in 1980, and he batted .245/.293/.353 in 1981.

Sadaoka collected 13 dingers again in 1982 as his batting line fell to .216/.274/.348, and he reached 100 hits for the only season in his career in 1983 while hitting .257/.298/.365 in 130 games. He tore his Achilles' tendon in 1984, so he only played 33 games in that season. He never had more than 150 at-bats in a season after injury, and he announced his retirement in 1987. He then coached the Hawks from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 2002. He was the manager of the Kochi Fighting Dogs from 2008 to 2013.

Overall, Sadaoka hit .232/.279/.350 with 785 hits and 88 homers in 14 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1977 NPB All Star Game