is a Japanese professional baseball

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

with the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB). In , Sakamoto became the first player in Giants franchise history to start a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

opener while under the age of 20 since

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed "Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and in Nipp ...

Early life

Sakamoto was born in

Itami, Hyōgo is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 197,215 in 83,580 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Geography Itami is located in south-eastern Hyōgo Prefec ...

, and began playing baseball while in the

first grade First grade (also 1st Grade or Grade 1) is the first year of formal or compulsory education. It is the first year of elementary school, and the first school year after kindergarten. Children in first grade are usually 6–7 years old. Examples ...

at Koyanosato Elementary School for the Koyanosato Tigers (a Little League team) alongside former

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Masahiro Tanaka is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. From ...

. Ironically, Sakamoto was the team's ace pitcher, and Tanaka his

batterymate In baseball, the battery is the pitcher and the catcher, who may also be called batterymen, or batterymates in relation to one another. History Origins of the term The use of the word 'battery' in baseball was first coined by Henry Chadwick ...

on the team. Both Sakamoto and Tanaka went on to attend Itami Municipal Matsuzaki Junior High School, but Sakamoto opted to join Itami Senior, while Tanaka chose to play for the Takarazuka Boys. Upon graduating from

junior high Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

, Sakamoto attended Kosei Gakuin High School in northern

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

, a baseball powerhouse in the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

. He became the team's starting shortstop by the fall of his first year (the equivalent of

tenth grade Tenth grade (also 10th Grade or Grade 10) is the tenth year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the second year of high school. In many parts of the world, students in tenth grade are usually 15 to 16 years of age. Australia In ...

in the United States) at Kosei Gakuin High. Sakamoto was hitting

cleanup Cleanup, clean up or clean-up may refer to: * Cleanup (animation), a stage of animation workflow * Clean-up (environment), environmental action to remove litter from a place * Cleanup hitter, a baseball position * Clean-up Records, a record la ...

by the summer of his second year (

eleventh grade Eleventh grade (also known as 11th Grade, Grade 11, or Junior year) is the eleventh year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the 3rd year of high school. Students in eleventh grade are usually 16-17 years of age. Australia In Au ...

), and led his team to

runners-up A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

in the Tohoku Regional Tournament that fall, earning a berth in the 78th

National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament The National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament (選抜高等学校野球大会 ''senbatsu kōtō gakkō yakyū taikai'') of Japan, commonly known as "Spring Kōshien" (春の甲子園 ''haru no kōshien'') or "Senbatsu" (センバツ ...

that would be held at

Koshien Stadium , commonly referred to as simply Koshien Stadium, is a baseball stadium located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on 1 August 1924. It was ...

the following spring. He attracted the attention of

scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

when he hit .813 (13-for-16) with four

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s in the Tohoku Regional Tournament later that spring, and hit a total of 39 home runs during his high school career. The Yomiuri Giants picked Sakamoto in the compensatory first round of the NPB high school player

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

after losing to the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011 ...

in the lottery that was held for fellow shortstop Naomichi Donoue, the most coveted high school

position player In baseball, a position player is a player who on defense plays as an infielder, outfielder, or catcher. A pitcher is generally not considered a position player. A designated hitter, who bats but does not play any defensive position, is also not ...

, and presented Sakamoto the

uniform number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to id ...

61.

Professional career

In 2007, Sakamoto spent most of his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season () with the Giants' ''nigun'' team (Japanese for "

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

" or "

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

"). He played 77 games in the Western League, hitting .268 with five homers and 28

RBIs A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

. Sakamoto saw his first call-up to the ''ichigun'' (major

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

) team in July and made his

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

debut as a

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

on July 12. He recorded his first career

base hit In baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H), also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches or passes first base after hitting the ball into fair territory with neither the benefit of an error nor a fielder's c ...

and RBI on September 6, knocking in the game-winning

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

in a game against the Dragons. In 2008,

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Tatsunori Hara had high hopes for Sakamoto in the season, playing him in all 15

pre-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

(spring training) games at either shortstop or

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

. Although

Tomohiro Nioka Tomohiro Nioka (二岡智宏, born April 29, 1976, in Miyoshi, Hiroshima, Japan) is a Japanese former professional baseball player. He previously played for the Yomiuri Giants and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Nioka batted and threw right-hande ...

, then the Giants' starting shortstop, returned from injury just before their season opener, Sakamoto's quick adjustment to second base, accompanied by left-hander Masanori Ishikawa's taking the mound for the opposing

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri G ...

, prompted Hara to start him in the season opener as the No. 8 hitter on March 28. Sakamoto became the first Giant to start a season opener while under the age of 20 since former

outfielder Hideki Matsui did so in 1994. Although Sakamoto was expected to

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

at second base with the likes of veteran

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

Kimura Takuya is a Japanese actor, singer, and radio personality. He is regarded as a Japanese icon after achieving success as an actor. He was also a popular member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia. In the media, he is known as a huge hea ...

and speedster Ryota Wakiya throughout the season, he returned to his natural position when Nioka

tore Tore may refer to: Places * Tõre, Estonia, a village * Tore, Scotland, a village * Töre, Sweden, a locality * Töre River, Sweden * Tore (volcano), Papua New Guinea People * Tore (given name), a Scandinavian given name * Elihan Tore (1885–1976 ...

his right

calf muscle The triceps surae consists of two muscles located at the calf – the two-headed gastrocnemius and the soleus. These muscles both insert into the calcaneus, the bone of the heel of the human foot, and form the major part of the muscle of the po ...

in that very game. Sakamoto started at shortstop from the second game onwards and never gave up the starting job. His first career home run came against the

Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Hanshin Koshien Stadium. The Tigers are owned by Hanshin Electric Railway Co., ...

on April 6, a

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

off

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

Kenta Abe that made him the youngest player in

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

history (19 years, 114 days) to hit a grand slam in a regular season game. He was also voted to the

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

team that year, getting his first hit in an All-Star game in Game 2 held at

Yokohama Stadium is a baseball stadium in Naka-ku, Yokohama, Japan. It opened in 1978 and has a capacity of 34,046 people. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The stadium features dirt around the bases an ...

on August 1. Sakamoto finished the season with a .257

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, eight home runs, 43 RBI and 10

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s, contributing to the Giants' league title that year. He made his first appearance in the

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning cl ...

against the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway ...

on November 1, hitting a home run off veteran right-hander

Fumiya Nishiguchi , (born September 26, 1972) is a Japanese former professional baseball right-handed pitcher and current manager for the Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He played 21 seasons in NPB, all for the Lions. Career On Septembe ...

in Game 7 and becoming the first NPB player in 22 years to hit a home run in the Japan Series while being under the age of 20 ( Kiyohara Kazuhiro last accomplished the feat while he was with the then-

Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, ...

). The Giants lost Game 7 3-2, coming up short in their run for a

championship. Sakamoto also started all 144 games, becoming just the third player (and first in the Central League) to start every game of the season in one's second year out of high school (along with

Futoshi Nakanishi was a Japanese professional baseball infielder, coach, and manager. He spent all of his playing career with the Nishitetsu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball, and served as player-manager of the team from 1962 to 1969. Nakanishi also managed ...

and Kiyohara). Perhaps even more impressive was that if one were to include pre-season, All-Star,

Climax Series The is the current annual playoff system implemented by Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It determines which team from the Central League (CL) and from the Pacific League (PL) will advance to compete for the championship in the Japan ...

(

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

) and Japan Series games, Sakamoto played a grand total of 172 total games that year. Although the Central League Most Valuable Rookie award was presented to teammate and left-handed reliever Tetsuya Yamaguchi, who

went Went can mean: Surname * Frits Went (1863–1935), Dutch botanist who used the standard author abbreviation "Went" * Louise Went (1865–1951) * Frits Warmolt Went (1903–1990), Dutch biologist and child of Frits Went * George Went Hensley ( ...

11-2 with a 2.32

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

in 67

appearances Appearance may refer to: * Visual appearance, the way in which objects reflect and transmit light * Human physical appearance, what someone looks like * ''Appearances'' (film), a 1921 film directed by Donald Crisp * Appearance (philosophy), or p ...

, Sakamoto received a special award for his efforts. The Giants also rewarded him by giving him the uniform number 6. In 2009, Sakamoto got off to a good start to the season (his third in the pros and second at the major league level), hitting .376 with a league-leading 11 doubles and

slugging Slugging, also known as casual carpooling and flexible carpooling, is the practice of forming ad hoc, informal carpools for purposes of commuting, essentially a variation of hitchhiking. A driver picks up these non-paying passengers (known as " ...

.541 for the month of April. He continued his torrid streak into May, hitting multiple home runs (the second a game-winning solo shot off

closer Closer or Closers may refer to: Film and television * ''Closer'' (2000 film), a documentary by Tina Gharavi * ''Closer'' (2004 film), a 2004 adaptation of Patrick Marber's play (see below), directed by Mike Nichols * ''The Closer'', a 1990 mo ...

Kyuji Fujikawa is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher who currently serves as the manager for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He played in NPB from 1999 to 2012, and 2016 to 2020 for Hanshin, and in Major League Baseball ...

) in a single game for the first time on May 2 against the Tigers and passing Tigers slugger

Tomoaki Kanemoto is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and manager. In his career as a player he spent 11 years with the Hiroshima Carp before moving to the Hanshin Tigers in 2003, where he spent another 10 years. He holds the world record for c ...

to take the league lead in batting average that week. He hit the first

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not have an opp ...

of his career on May 6 off reliever Hiroki Sanada (who was a teammate of Sakamoto until he was traded midway through the 2008 season) in a game against the

Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current ...

. In 2015, Sakamoto was named captain of the Giants. He finished the regular season with a .269 batting average and 12 home runs, and for the first time since 2007 was not selected as an all-star. Sakamoto would bounce back in 2016, hitting .344 with 23 home runs and a .988 OPS, and was once again named an all-star. However, the Giants would miss the postseason for the first time since 2006. In 2018, he was selected to his 10th All-Star Series and finished the regular season with a career-high .345 batting average. In 2019, Sakamoto won his first MVP award. He finished the regular season with a .312 batting average, 40 home runs and 94 RBI, and helped the Giants reach the

2019 Japan Series The 2019 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2019'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2019 season. The 70th edition of the Japan Series, it was played from 19-23 October. The ...

.　However, the Giants were swept by the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. Founded on February 22, 1938, as the Nankai Club, being the first Kansai t ...

in four games. Sakamoto collected just one hit in 13 at-bats during the series. On June 3, 2020, it was announced that Sakamoto and Giants teammate

Takumi Ohshiro is a Japanese professional baseball catcher and infielder for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Career On November 16, 2018, he was selected for the Yomiuri Giants roster at the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series exhibiti ...

both tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. However, he was cleared to return to the starting lineup for the Giants' 2020 season opener against the Hanshin Tigers on June 19. On November 8, 2020, Sakamoto collected his 2,000th career hit. On September 7, 2023, Sakamoto started at third base for the first time in his 17-year career. Previously, he had only started at second base or shortstop.

International career

As a member of the

Japan national baseball team The , also known as , is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, and 2023 as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by t ...

Sakamoto has participated in the 2012 exhibition games against

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike the tw ...

, 2014 MLB Japan All-Star Series, 2015 exhibition games against Europe,

2015 WBSC Premier12 The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan. The South Korea ...

, 2016 exhibition games against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts wer ...

and

2019 WBSC Premier12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship w ...

. In the 2013 World Baseball Classic, he was the starting shortstop. Like most of his teammates, he had problems at the batting plate, as he was unable to hit for consistency during the pool rounds, though he had a crucial RBI single equalizer against

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

in the bottom of the 8th of that game. Sakamoto seemed to regain his batting sense alongside his teammates in the 16-4 mulling of the

that qualified Team Japan to the semi-finals, hitting 2-5 in the game including a grand slam in the top of the 7th that gave Japan a more than 10 run lead needed to end the game early via mercy rule, securing an early ticket to the semis. However, Team Japan lost their semi-final match against

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

3-1, thus finishing third and losing their two-time defending championship streak. On October 1, 2019, he was selected to participate at the 2019 WBSC Premier12. On November 16, 2018, Sakamoto was selected for the Yomiuri Giants roster at the

2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series The 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series was the twelfth edition of the MLB Japan All-Star Series, a best-of-six series between an All-Star team from Major League Baseball (MLB) and for the second time in series history, the Japanese national team, Samu ...

exhibition game against MLB All-Stars.

Playing style

Hitting

Listed at 6 ft 1 in and 176 lb,Hayato Sakamoto
mlb.com Sakamoto has a relatively large

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

for a Japanese

middle infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. He is a spray hitter whose swing is characterized by a pronounced leg kick. Though the majority of his

extra-base hits In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...

tend to be

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

s into the

alleys An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, walk, or av ...

(37 doubles in 653 career

at-bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

as of May 13, 2009), many predict that Sakamoto will develop home run power as his body fills out.

Fielding

Sakamoto puts his superb athleticism (he was clocked at 6.0 seconds in the 50-meter dash and 110 meters in the long toss in high school) to good use in the field. Though he committed 15 errors in the field in his first season in the majors in 2008, he has very good range and has improved on his throwing tremendously since coming into the pros.

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakamoto, Hayato 1988 births Living people category:Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Nippon Professional Baseball shortstops People from Itami, Hyōgo Baseball people from Hyōgo Prefecture Yomiuri Giants players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic baseball players for Japan Olympic medalists in baseball Olympic gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics World Baseball Classic players of Japan