Hayato Mizowaki
Hayato Mizowaki (溝脇 隼人, Mizowaki Hayato, born May 17, 1994 in Tamana, Kumamoto, Japan) is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
| Hayato Mizowaki 溝脇 隼人 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Chunichi Dragons – No. 48 | |||
| Infielder | |||
| Born: 17 May 1994 Tamana, Kumamoto, Japan | |||
| |||
| NPB debut | |||
| 6 August, 2014, for the Chunichi Dragons | |||
| NPB statistics (through 2018) | |||
| Batting average | .091 | ||
| Home runs | 1 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1 | ||
| Teams | |||
| |||
Early Career
Mizowaki attended Tamana Municipal Junior High School where he started playing baseball.
From his freshman year at Kyushu Gakuin High School, Mizowaki became a regular at short stop. In summer of his freshman year, he batted second, fielding at short in the 92nd Japanese High School Baseball Championship. In the third game, he experienced pneumonia,but was put on an intravenous drip and played the game.[1] He reached the best 8 of the tournament with his school where they lost 3-10 to Tokai University Sagami High School.
In spring of his junior year at the 83rd Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament, batting first and fielding at short-stop, he hit a game changing triple in the 9th inning with two outs against Kokugakuin University High School where the subsequent line-up scored lead the team to victory.[2] In the 2nd game against Riseisha High School, Mizowaki came down with gastroenteritis where he once again had an IV drip before playing. This time however his team would lose 2-8 where he was the last batter.[1] In summer during the Kumamoto qualifiers his team was bundled out by Kumamoto Technical High School 0-3 in the semi-finals.
In spring of his senior year at the 84th High School Baseball Invitational Tournament, Mizowaki once again lead-off fielding at short stop. In the second game, his team lost 3-5 to eventual winners Osaka Tōin High School lead by ace, Shintaro Fujinami. In summer his team would once again fail to reach the summer koshien tournament losing out to Seiseiko High School 0-1 in the semi-final.
On 25 October 2012, Mizowaki was selected as the 5th draft pick for the Chunichi Dragons at the 2012 NPB Draft and on 19 November signed a provisional contract with a ¥27,000,000 sign-on bonus and a ¥6,000,000 yearly salary.[3]
Professional career
Chunichi Dragons
On 26 August 2014, Mizowaki made his professional debut against the Yokohama DeNA Baystars fielding at short stop at batting 8th in the order. His first professional hit came of Yuya Kubo in his 3rd plate appearance.
On 4 April 2017, Mizowaki hit his first professional homerun against Hiroshima Carp pitcher Yusuke Nomura as a pinch-hitter for Shunta Wakamatsu at Nagoya Dome.[4]
Playing style
Mizowaki can run 50 metres in 6 seconds with his glove being his main strength.[5] He is also known as a contact hitter.[5]
Personal
The player Mizowaki looks up to the most is Masahiro Araki with whom he shares the same home prefecture.[5]
References
- "３度目夢舞台、優勝狙う 溝脇隼人（熊本・九州学院 新３年）" [3rd time at the field of dreams, Hayato Mizowaki (Kyushu Gakuin) aims for victory]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 24 March 2012. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- "９回２死から！九州学院・溝脇 執念三塁打" [2 outs in the 9th, Kyushu Gakuin's Mizowaki hit's a triple]. Sponichi (in Japanese). 27 March 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- "中日入団交渉で役立つ「田島基準」" [The "Tajima standard" proving useful at contract negotiations.]. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 19 November 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- "中日・溝脇、プロ初本塁打 谷繁氏「センスを凄く感じる選手」 ｜ ショウアップナイター" [Mizowaki hits first pro dinger; Tanshige says "you can really feel this is a player with good sense."]. Baseball King (in Japanese). 4 April 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- "【野球】九学の溝脇、中日と合意" [Baseball: Kyugaku's Mizowaki and Chunichi reach agreement]. Kumanichi Shimbun (in Japanese). 19 November 2012. Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2019.