Yuki Yoshimura

Yuki Yoshimura (吉村 裕基)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 207 lbs.

• High School Higashi Fukuoka High School

• Born June 14, 1984 in Koga, Fukuoka Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yuki Yoshimura played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 14 years.

Yoshimura was drafted by the Yokohama BayStars in the fifth round of the 2002 NPB draft, but he spent most of his first three seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues, and only played 16 games combined in the Central League. He broke out in 2006, hitting .311/.336/.573 with 26 homers, and ranked 7th in homers (21 behind Tyrone Woods). He got 53 votes for the 2006 Central League League Rookie of the Year Award, finishing second behind Eishin Soyogi's 110 votes.

Previously an outfielder, the Fukuoka native was turned into a first baseman in 2007, and that didn't influence his performance. Yoshimura hit .274/.320/.468 with 24 homers, and ranked 11th in RBI (37 behind Alex Ramirez). Yoshimura came back to the outfield again in 2008, and he had his career year. He recorded a .260/.313/.525 batting line with 34 homers, ranking 5th in homers (12 behind his teammate Shuichi Murata) and 6th in RBI (34 behind Ramirez). Yoshimura's batting average fell to .248 in 2009, but he still blasted 16 homers with a career-high 13 steals. He became the youngest player and the first Central League hitter to hit a homer in every place in a lineup.

However, Yoshimura struggled in 2010 and his batting line slumped to .205/.229/.303. He was unable to bounce back as his batting line was .200/.272/.314 in 2011, and he only played 25 games in 2012. The BayStars then traded him with Shogo Yamamoto and Shintaro Ejiri to the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks for Hitoshi Tamura, Yasushi Kamiuchi and Teruaki Yoshikawa.

Yoshimura still only played 36 games with a .194.272/.355 batting line in 2013, and he finally came back in 2014. He was the main pinch-hitter for the Hawks, and he hit .296/.384/.457 with 5 homers. He became the 28th player to homer against all 12 teams in NPB in May 29, and he was the only player to hit a homer against all teams and in all places in the lineup. In the 2014 Pacific League Climax Series, Yoshimura collected a single against Hiroshi Urano in the third inning in Game 1, then hit a walk-off double off Hirotoshi Masui in the 9th inning. He then hit a RBI single against Hiroshi Kisanuki in Game 4 to help his team win it. In Game 5, Yoshimura collected a two-run double against Shohei Ohtani when the bases were loaded in the 2nd inning, then hit a game-tying RBI single against Hiroshi Kisanuki in the 8th inning. He had 6 RBI in this series, and won the PLCS MVP. He was only 2-for-12 in the 2014 Nippon Series, and won his first Nippon Series title as the Hawks beat the [[Hanshin Tigers] in 5 games.

After a fine season, Yoshimura's performance declined again in 2015. He only hit .217/.325/.357 with 5 homers, and went 1-for-5 in the 2015 Nippon Series. The Hawks still beat the Yakult Swallows in 5 games. His batting line was .209/.287/.328 in 2016, and he only played 8 games in 2017. The Hawks released him after the 2018 season, and he joined the De Glaskoning Twins of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. He hit .270/.338/.381 in the 2019 Hoofdklasse. He moved to the independent Ryukyu Blue Oceans in 2020 and Hinokuni Salamanders in 2021.

He announced his retirement in 2021, and became a coach for Higashi Fukuoka High School (his alma mater) since 2022.

Overall, Yoshimura had hit .253/.311/.440 with 759 hits and 131 homers in 14 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 2006 CL Rookie of the Year voting