Yusuke Oyama

Yūsuke Ōyama (大山 悠輔, Ōyama Yūsuke, born December 19, 1994 in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki, Japan) is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays infielder for the Hanshin Tigers.

Yūsuke Ōyama
Oyama batting for the Tigers
Hanshin Tigers – No. 3
Infielder
Born: (1994-12-19) December 19, 1994
Shimotsuma, Ibaraki, Japan
Bats: Right Throws: Right
debut
June 23, 2017, for the Hanshin Tigers
Career statistics
(through 2019)
Batting average.259
Home runs32
Hits281
Runs batted in162
Stolen bases10
Teams

Early Baseball Career

Yūsuke started playing softball in 1st grade as both a pitcher and infielder, and continued until junior high.[1] He doubled as a pitcher and infielder for Tsukuba Shuei High, but his team never made it to the national tournaments in Koshien. He hit a total of 27 home runs in high school.[2]

He entered Hakuoh University in Tochigi prefecture, and played solely as 3rd baseman as their team participated in the Kankoshin Student Baseball Federation League. In his 4th year, he batted an average of .417 and set a league record of 8 home runs in a single tournament. He was also awarded for the most runs batted in (20 RBI).[3] In all of his 98 game appearances, he recorded 119 hits and 93 runs, including 16 homeruns.[4]

Hanshin Tigers
Playing for the Tigers in Koshien

He was the Tiger's 1st pick at the 2016 NPB Draft. He signed with Hanshin for a contract of 100 million yen, 50 million signing bonus for an estimated annual salary of 15 million. He inherited the jersey number 3, formerly worn by retired infielder Kentaro Sekimoto.[2]

2017

He joined the main squad spring camp training[5] but struggled at the plate as he went hitless for 17 at-bats.[6] Despite batting .333 in 9 appearances during the pre-season games,[7] he was sent back to the farms as there was a surplus of infielders in the main roster.

He spent the 1st half of the season playing in Western League (farm games), where until June, he averaged .232 and batted in 14 runs (1 HR). Finally on June 23, he was called to pinch hit against the Carps in Mazda Stadium.[8] On July 1, he notched his first career hit and first career home run which won the match against the Swallows in Koshien. He became the 7th Hanshin rookie to notch a home run as his first hit; this was last accomplished 30 years ago by Hiroshi Yagi.[9] By the end of July, he was batting third, and continued to hit well in the succeeding games. On August 18, he recorded the first 5-RBI game of his career including a three-run home run. He was assigned the clean up spot in the next month, and when he notched his 6th homerun on September 2, he became the first Hanshin Rookie to hit a home run as a clean up batter.[10][11] He ended the season with a .237 average, 7 home runs and 38 RBIs in 198 at bats. He also finished second in the Central League Rookie of the Year voting behind Chunichi Dragons shortstop Yota Kyoda.

He continued to bat clean up during the post-season Climax Series games (playoffs) against the Baystars, and on October 15, he went 4-for-5 (1B9, HR7, 2B9, 2B8, F9) and tied the playoffs record for most hits in a game with 15 other players.[12] He is the first rookie to accomplish the feat during post-season play (including the Nippon Series), and the fourth rookie in Climax Series history to hit a home run. He notched 7 hits and 4 RBIs during the three playoff games before Hanshin got eliminated.[13]

His performance for the season earned him a 10 million pay raise, bringing his annual salary to 25 million yen.[14]。

2018

He participated as part of the national team in the 2018 ENEOS Samurai Japan Series versus Australia before the season started.[15] He managed to secure the third-base position during the season-opener, but saw fewer plate appearances as he went on a hitting slump in April, and was eventually sent back to the farm in June 22.[16] He redeemed himself by batting 0.400 in 8 farm games, scored 8 RBIs including 3 home runs, which prompted management to call him back to the main squad a few days later.[17] He continued to hit well in the following weeks, but did not really hit anything beyond the fence. In September however, he hit one home run after another, including 2 home runs in a single inning during the September 16 match against the Baystars, and a rare inside-the-park home run on September 27.[18] This brought his total to 11, and he experienced his first season with double digit home runs.

He finished the season at 0.274, with 48 RBIs out of 117 games. His improved performance earned him an additional 5 million yen pay raise, bringing his annual salary to 30 million yen.[19]

2019

On February 27, 2019, he was selected for Japan national baseball team at the 2019 exhibition games against Mexico.[20]

References
  1. "2016 Professional Baseball Draft". Sports Nippon. March 19, 2017.
  2. "阪神ドラ１大山が宣戦布告　内野戦争「割って入る」". Nikkan Sports. March 19, 2017.
  3. "阪神ドラ１大山　三塁奪う！キャンベルに宣戦布告　体力測定で大器片りん". Sports Nippon. March 19, 2017.
  4. "阪神びっくり１位　白鴎大・大山、鉄人魂の持ち主だ". Nikkan Sports. March 19, 2017.
  5. 2017年春季一軍キャンプメンバーについて 阪神タイガース　March 19, 2017
  6. "大山17打席目お待たせ"プロ初安打" 球児&ドリス撃ちで初マルチ]デイリースポーツ" (in Japanese). Daily Sports. March 16, 2017.
  7. "阪神大山が二軍練習に参加　掛布二軍監督が見守る" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. March 16, 2017.
  8. "阪神ドラフト1位大山、プロ初打席は空振り三振" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. June 23, 2017.
  9. "[阪神ドラフト1位大山　連敗脱出弾!新人プロ初安打弾は"神様"八木以来30年ぶり" (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. July 2, 2017.
  10. "阪神新4番大山の打撃に金本監督絶賛「大したもん" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  11. "大山、4番抜てき　ドラフト制度後の新人では初" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  12. "【阪神】大山、CSで新人初の4安打]" (in Japanese). Sports Hochi. September 1, 2017.
  13. "阪神大山またマルチ、強烈のCS打率5割3分8厘" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. October 18, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  14. "大山は1000万増の2500万円でサイン「1年間、一軍で出られるように」]" (in Japanese). Daily Sports. November 28, 2017.
  15. "ENEOS侍ジャパンシリーズ2018「日本対オーストラリア」日本代表出場選手". Official Samurai Japan website. February 20, 2018.
  16. "阪神の大山が２軍降格　打撃不調、代わりに北條が昇格". Sankei Shimbun. June 22, 2018.
  17. "阪神大山きょう再昇格　二軍戦で復調、左翼も合格点". nikkansports.com. Nikkan Sports. July 3, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  18. "阪神大山、歴史に名を刻んだ6打数6安打3本塁打". nikkansports.com. Nikkan Sports. September 16, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  19. "虎の中心で！阪神・大山誓った、糸原主将の「力になる」". Sankei Sports. December 5, 2018.
  20. "ENEOS 侍ジャパンシリーズ2019「日本 vs メキシコ」に出場するメンバー28名が決定". 野球日本代表 侍ジャパン オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
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