Kai Ueda

Kai Ueda (植田 海, Ueda Kai, born April 19, 1996 in Kōka, Shiga) is a Japanese professional baseball infielder, playing for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

Kai Ueda
Ueda at the Naruohama stadium, 2016
Hanshin Tigers – No. 62
Infielder
Born: (1996-04-19) April 19, 1996
Bats: Switch Throws: Right
NPB debut
October 1, 2016, for the Hanshin Tigers
NPB statistics
(through 2019)
Batting average.205
Home runs1
Hits51
RBI3
Stolen bases32
Teams

Early baseball career

Ueda started playing baseball in 2nd grade for the Kohnan Boys Baseball Club, where he alternated between pitcher and shortstop positions. It was only when he entered junior high that he decided to become a full-time shortstop.[1]

He initially enrolled in the Japan Aviation High School in Yamanashi Prefecture, but decided to return to his hometown after a year. He transferred to Oumi High School where he secured the baseball team's shortstop position.[2] In 2014, he helped his team make it all the way to the 96th Summer Koshien Tournament. Even though his team lost in the 3rd round, he recorded an impressive batting average of 0.571.[2][3]

Hanshin Tigers

Before he graduated high school, he became the Hanshin Tigers' 5th round pick during the 2014 annual professional baseball draft. He inked the deal with the Tigers for a 5 million annual salary, and a 30 million signing bonus. He was assigned the jersey number 62.[4][5]

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References
  1. "金本監督アニキの一声　植田一軍キャンプ抜てき". Nikkan Sports. 2015-11-09. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  2. "近江7年ぶり初戦突破！プロ注目の植田3安打2打点2盗塁と大暴れ". Sports Hochi. 2014-08-17. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-22.
  3. "2014年ドラフト会議特集". Baseball Weekly (週刊ベースボール). Retrieved 2014-11-22.
  4. "ドラ5・植田仮契約「実感わいてきた」". Daily Sports. 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2014-11-24.
  5. "阪神、ドラフト5位の植田と年俸500万円で仮契約". Sankei Sports. 2014-11-13. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2014-11-24.
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