Hiroyuki Fukuyama

Hiroyuki Fukuyama (福山 博之)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 154 lbs.

• School Osaka University of Commerce
• High School Daito High School

• Born March 27, 1989 in Unnan, Shimane, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hiroyuki Fukuyama has pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 12 years.

Fukuyama had been a second baseman in high school, but on his college entrance exam claimed he was a pitcher so became a pitcher in college. He was drafted by the Yokohama BayStars in the sixth round of the 2010 NPB draft, but he had a terrible 5.76 ERA in 19 relief outings in 2011, then only pitched 2 games in 2012. The BayStars released him after this season, and the Rakuten Golden Eagles picked him up. Fukuyama had 22 appearances in 2013 with a 4.41 ERA.

The Shimane native became an outstanding reliever in 2014, having a solid 1.87 ERA in 65 appearances and notching 23 holds. He ranked 7th in the Pacific League in holds (21 behind Ryota Igarashi) and 2nd in appearances (2 behind Tatsuya Sato). Fukuyama was also selected into the 2014 NPB All-Star Games, and he relieved Yuki Nishi in the 5th inning in Game 1. He struck out Yoshihiro Maru first, then allowed an infield hit to Ryosuke Kikuchi, and Takashi Toritani added a double. Brad Eldred's infield hit drove in a run, then Fukuyama struck out Kila Ka'aihue and retired Yohei Oshima to end this inning. He retired Yuhei Takai, Shota Dobayashi and Motonobu Tanishige respectively in the next inning, and Michael Crotta succeeded him. In Game 2, Fukuyama replaced Yoshihisa Hirano in the 8th inning, then Maru blasted a leadoff homer off him. Fukuyama retired Yuhei Nakamura, but Takai and Tony Blanco then both singled. He forced Shuichi Murata to ground into a double play to preserve the Pacific League's 6-run lead, and he retired Oshima, Hayato Sakamoto and Kikuchi to end this game. He extended his solid pitching in 2015, when he notched 22 holds with a 2.76 ERA in 65 games. He ranked 6th in holds (18 behind Tatsushi Masuda) and 3rd in appearances (7 behind Masuda).

Fukuyama became the first Rakuten pitcher to pitch more than 60 games for three straight years when he kept busy in 2016, and ended up collecting 19 holds with a 2.71 ERA in 69 games. He led the PL in appearances, and ranked 8th in holds (20 behind Naoki Miyanishi). Fukuyama had his career year in 2017, recording an elite 1.06 ERA with 23 holds in 65 games. He ranked 3rd in appearances (7 behind Sho Iwasaki) and 10th in holds (17 behind Iwasaki). He relieved Yuhei Takanashi in the 7th inning in Game 2 of the 2017 PLCS first stage against the Seibu Lions and pitched 1 1/3 innings. Although he allowed a run by Takeya Nakamura and Takumi Kuriyama's back-to-back singles, Fukuyama still notched a hold. He then pitched 1 1/3 innings with two strikeouts in Game 3 and helped the Golden Eagles advance to the final stage. Facing the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, Fukuyama pitched one inning in Game 1, 1 1/3 innings in Game 2 and collected a hold in both games. He appeared in the fifth consecutive game in Game 3, but he allowed a 2-run homer to Akira Nakamura and got a loss. The Hawks beat the Golden Eagles in 5 games.

However, the 2017 season was his last productive season. Fukuyama's ERA rose to 6.75 in 2018, and he only pitched 7 games in 2019. He had a 0.75 ERA in 14 games in 2020, then recorded a 2.38 ERA in 24 appearances in 2021. Fukuyama only pitched 3 games in 2022, then he announced his retirement.

Overall, Fukuyama was 17-15 with a 2.92 ERA, collected 102 holds, struck out 184 and pitched 384 2/3 innings in 12 years in NPB.