Hayato Ito

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Hayato Ito (伊藤 隼太)

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Hayato Ito was a first-round pick in the Nippon Pro Baseball draft in the 2011 NPB draft.

Ito was a corner outfielder for the Japanese national team in the 2010 Asian Games, going 4 for 12 with 2 walks, a double, triple, 5 runs and 6 RBI. He had 3 run and 3 RBI in a rout of Mongolia. In the semifinal loss to Taiwan, he was 1 for 2 as the starting left fielder before being replaced by Hidenori Watanabe. In the Bronze Medal game win over host China, he hit 6th and played left field. He was 0 for 3 with a walk, run and RBI. In the 2010 World University Championship, he starred for Japan, hitting .261/.333/.652 with a team-high 3 home runs and 10 RBI. In the semifinal, he was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts against Sonny Gray and a reliever in a loss to the US. In the Bronze Medal Game 9-0 win over South Korea, he was 1 for 4 with a walk and 2-run homer (off Sung-bum Na in the first). For the event, he was 5th in RBI (behind Yoennis Céspedes, Alfredo Despaigne, José Dariel Abreu and Chieh-Pei Huang) and 4th in home runs (one shy of the 3 leading Cubans, Abreu, Despaigne and Céspedes). He did not make the All-Tournament outfield as Mikie Mahtook, Céspedes and Shota Ishimine were picked.

Ito was picked by the Hanshin Tigers in the first round of the 2011 NPB draft. He signed for a 100 million yen bonus, 15 million yen contract and 50 million yen worth of incentives. He was the Tigers' Opening Day right fielder and hit 7th. He struck out twice against Kentaro Takasaki before Shunsuke Fujikawa pinch-hit for him.

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