Hiroki Sakai

Hiroki Sakai (酒井 弘樹)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 154 lbs.

• School Kokugakuin University
• High School Kanto Daiichi High School

• Born September 22, 1971 in Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hiroki Sakai pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and the TML.

Sakai was drafted by the Kintetsu Buffaloes in the first round of the 1993 NPB draft, and he had a 5.86 ERA in 18 appearances in his rookie year. He improved to a 4.18 ERA in 32 games in 1995, then he entered the rotation in 1996. Sakai was 8-15 with a 3.30 ERA, and he led the Pacific League with 15 losses (tied with Kimiyasu Kudo) and 17 wild pitches. He also ranked 9th in ERA (between Koji Noda and Shintaro Yamasaki) and 4th in strikeouts (29 behind Kudo).

The Chiba native suffered from injuries in 1997, so he only went 1-5 with a 4.56 ERA. Sakai then bounced back in 1998, and he recorded a 1.97 ERA in 60 games. He ranked 4th in appearances, between Shuji Yoshida and Soichi Fujita. However, he was injured in 1999, so he only played 8 games combined over the next two seasons. The Buffaloes then traded him with Tetsuji Mende, and Koji Hirashita to the Hanshin Tigers for Toshiro Yufune, Kazuharu Yamazaki and Hirotoshi Kitagawa. Sakai didn't pitch any games for the big club of the Tigers, and he was released after the 2001 season.

The Taichung Agan of the TML signed him, and he was 2-5 with a 3.93 ERA in 2002. Along with Chin-Chih Huang, he combined for 16 strikeouts on March 31 to set a TML team record for whiffs in a game. Sakai left Taiwan after the 2002 season and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Sakai was 21-26 with a 3.68 ERA, struck out 376 and pitched 452 innings in 7 years in NPB.