Shuhei Fukuda (1)

Shuhei Fukuda (福田 秀平)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 163 lb.
• High School Tama University Hijirigaoka High School

• Born February 10, 1989 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Japan

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Biographical Information

OF/IF Shuhei Fukuda began playing in Nippon Pro Baseball in 2008, on the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks' ni-gun team in the Western League he reached the top level for the first time in 2010 when he hit .261 in 40 games for Fukuoka in the Pacific League. He split every season between the two levels from 2010 to 2017 before finally spending a full season in the Pacific League in 2018. That year, he hit .263 in 110 games, but had only 118 at-bats. After one more season split between Softbank's two squads in 2019, he moved to the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2020 where he split the next three seasons between the Pacific League and the minor league Eastern League.

He has been largely a back-up at the top level, batting .228 in 782 games through the end of the 2022 season, with middling power (his career slugging percentage was .353). He hit for a higher average in the minors, but was never a top hitting threat. However, his positional versatility, with games in the outfield and at all three bases, makes him a useful substitute, explaining his long career. He was part of a veritable dynasty for Softbank, as the teamt won the Japan Series six times during his tenure, in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. In Game 1 of the 2018 series against the Hiroshima Carp on October 27th, he had a chance to break a 2-2 tie when he came up as a pinch-hitter in the 11th inning with the bases loaded, but he flew out to end the inning and the game ended without a winner after one more inning of play. In 2019, in a four-game sweep against the Yomiuri Giants, he was a regular and hit a key two-run home run off Kyosuke Takagi in a 6-3 win in Game 2 on October 20th. His numerous appearances in the Japan Series explain why he is a much bigger name in Japan than one would expect for a player whose on-field accomplishments are somewhat modest.

In addition to his time in Japan, he played winter ball for the Brisbane Bandits of the Australian Baseball League in 2010-11 and for the Gigantes de Carolina in the Puerto Rican League in 2013-14.

He was a competitive swimmer as a youth before turning to baseball full-time. He is one of two NPB players with the same name; the second Shuhei Fukuda, an infielder, began playing in NPB in 2018. Their names are written differently in Japanese.