is a Japanese

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

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). He is the Pacific League record holder for

sacrifice bunt In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, a ...

Early baseball career

Imamiya attended Meiho High School,

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, ...

, hitting 62

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 and throwing as hard as 154 km/h(96 mph). He participated in the 2nd grade spring the 80th

Japanese 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 ...

, 3rd grade spring the 81st Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament, and 3rd grade summer the 91st

Japanese High School Baseball Championship The of Japan, commonly known as , is an annual nationwide high school baseball tournament. It is the largest scale amateur sport event in Japan. The tournament, organized by the Japan High School Baseball Federation and ''Asahi Shimbun'', ...

as a

Third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

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 ...

and

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, ...

. And he pitched a 154

km/h The kilometre per hour ( SI symbol: km/h; non-SI abbreviations: kph, kmph, km/hr) is a unit of speed, expressing the number of kilometres travelled in one hour. History Although the metre was formally defined in 1799, the term "kilometres per h ...

(95.69 mph)

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

as a pitcher in the quarterfinals of 91st Japanese High School Baseball Championship against the Hanamaki Higashi High School's

Yusei Kikuchi is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, and Houston Astros, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) fo ...

Professional career

The

drafted him in the first round in the 2009 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.

2010–2015 season

In 2010 season, Imamiya played in the Western League of NPB's minor leagues. In 2011 season, Imamiya made his debut with the

Pacific League The , or , or the , due to sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the a ...

on April 12, 2011, as a defensive sub at 1B. For the year, he played 18 games (11 at first base, 7 not appearing in the field) but only had one at-bat (he was retired). He had two steals and three runs, indicating he pinch-ran at times. And he was selected as 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 ...

roster in the

2011 Japan Series The 2011 Japan Series (known as the ''Konami Nippon Series 2011'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 62nd edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff matched the Chunichi Dragons and Fukuoka SoftBank H ...

. After the 2011 NPB season, Imamiya played in the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it s ...

for the

Brisbane Bandits The Brisbane Bandits are a professional baseball team in Brisbane, Queensland that plays in the Australian Baseball League and is one of the six founding teams of the league. From the 2010/11 season till the 2012/13 season their home ballpark ...

, and was named to the 2011 Australian Baseball League All-Star Game. On April 30, 2012, Imamiya hit his first

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

in the Pacific League. And he hit his first home run 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 August 4, and also hit a home run on the 5th, recording two days consecutive home runs. In 2012 season, Imamiya finished the regular season in 126 games with a

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 ...

of .238, a two home runs, a RBI of 14, a 8

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, and a 21

s. In 2013 season, Imamiya broke the Pacific League season record with 62 sacrifice bunts. And he recorded in 143 games with a batting average of .253, a 5 home runs, a RBI of 43, and a 10 stolen bases. On November 26, Imamiya was honored for the

Mitsui Golden Glove Award The Mitsui Golden Glove Award, sponsored by Japan's Mitsui Group, is an annual award for the best fielders in Japan's professional baseball leagues by the Nippon Professional Baseball Association. It is awarded to nine fielders. The players are s ...

at the 2013 Professional Baseball Convention. On July 18, 2014, Imamiya participated in the MAZADA All-Star Game 2014 for the first time. In 2014 season, Imamiya recorded 62 sacrifice bunts and achieved 60 sacrifice bunts for the first time in NPB history for the second consecutive year. And he recorded in all 144 games with a batting average of .240, a 3 home runs, a RBI of 42, and a 10 stolen bases. In the

2014 Japan Series The 2014 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2014'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 65th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) championship series known colloquially as the Japan Series. The best-of-seven playoff was won by ...

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., ...

, he recorded his first hit in the Japan Series in Game 1. On November 26, Imamiya was honored the Pacific League

Best Nine Award The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists. History While the Best Nine Award was first prese ...

for the first time and the Mitsui Golden Glove Award for the second consecutive year at the NPB Awards 2014. On July 2, 2015, Imamiya was elected an MAZDA all-star Game 2015. In 2015 season, he finished the regular season in 142 games with a batting average of .228, a 7 home runs, a RBI of 45, a 3 stolen bases, and a 35 sacrifice bunts. In the

2015 Japan Series The 2015 Japan Series was the 66th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, champions of the Pacific League, played the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, champions of the Central League. The Hawks ...

against the

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 ...

, he contributed to the team's second consecutive Japan Series champion with a batting average of .278 and one home run. On November 25, Imamiya was honored for the Mitsui Golden Glove Award for the third consecutive year at the NPB Awards 2015.

2016–2020 season

On June 2, 2016, Imamiya achieved 200 sacrifice bunts, the youngest in NPB's history. In 2016 season, he finished the regular season in 137 games with a batting average of .245, a 10 home runs, a RBI of 56, a 8 stolen bases, and a 38 sacrifice bunts. On October 28, Imamiya underwent surgery on his right elbow. On November 28, Imamiya was honored for the Mitsui Golden Glove Award for the fourth consecutive year at the NPB Awards 2016. On January 26, 2017, Imamiya declined to participate in the

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 ...

due to rehabilitation of his right elbow. He returned to the team at the start of the 2017 season. On June 26, Imamiya was selected by fan voting for MyNavi All-Star Game 2017, and has participated for the fourth time in a row since 2014. He finished the regular season in 141 games with a batting average of .264, a 14 home runs, a RBI of 64, a 15 stolen bases, and a 52 sacrifice bunts. In the

2017 Japan Series The 2017 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2017'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason. The 68th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the F ...

against the

Yokohama DeNA 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 n ...

, He contributed to the team's second consecutive Japan Series champion with a good defense of diving catches in Game 4 and three hits and two stolen bases in Game 5. On November 20, Imamiya was honored for the Pacific League Best Nine Award for the second time in three years and the Mitsui Golden Glove Award for the Fifth consecutive year at the NPB Awards 2017. On June 14, 2018, Imamiya left the team for rehabilitation due to pain in his right elbow. He returned to the team in about a month, but the number of games played was reduced to 99. And he recorded .266 batting average, 11 home runs, 45 RBIs, 5 stolen bases and 22 sacrifice bunts. In the

2018 Japan Series The 2018 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2018'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2018 Nippon Professional Baseball season, 2018 season. The 69th edition of the Japan Ser ...

against the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

, Imamiya contributed to the team's second consecutive Japan Series champion with a batting average of .357 (5 hits in 14 at bats) in four games. In 2019 season, Imamiya changed his

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 ...

from 2 to 6. On June 4, 2019, he achieved 1,000 appearances. In the match against

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. The Marines were a founding member of the Pacific Le ...

on August 8, Imamiya hit a reversal home run with a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

for the first time. He finished the regular season in 106 games with a batting average of .256, a 14 home runs, a RBI of 41, a 4 stolen bases, and a 7 sacrifice bunts. In the

2019 Pacific League Climax Series The 2019 Pacific League Climax Series (PLCS) was a post-season Climax Series playoff consisting of two consecutive series that determined which of the three teams who finished in the top three during the 2019 regular season would represent the Pa ...

against the Saitama Seibu Lions, Imamiya won the Pacific League Climax Series

Most valuable player Award In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

with 5 hits and 6 RBIs including 3 home runs in Game 4. In 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 ...

against 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 ...

, Imamiya contributed to the team's third consecutive Japan Series champion with a batting average of .313 (5 hits in 16 at bats) in four games. In the match against the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...

on July 3, 2020, Imamiya achieved the youngest 300 sacrifice bunts in NPB history. On August 22, Imamiya was diagnosed with a muscle injury in his left calf. He spent the rest of his time rehabilitating, reducing his participation in the 2019 season to 43 games.

2021 season–present

On April 8, 2021, Imamiya set a Pacific League record with a total of 306 sacrifice bunts. On October 5, he reached a total of 1,000 hits against the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping ...

. However, he was diagnosed with a bone bruise in the tibia of his left leg, ending his season on October 23. Early in the 2021 season, he played 125 games with rest while both calves were not in perfect condition, but his batting average was his worst at .214. He also hit four home runs and drove in 30 RBI. In 2022 season, Imamiya has been focusing on hitting compactly, not on hitting home runs, and as a result, he had a .348 batting average in May. However, on May 25, he was removed from the first team registration as a close contact of a

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 ...

-positive person according to regulations, and was re-registered on the 31. He returned and recorded a hit in the

interleague play Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. ...

on the 31st against the

. On July 26, he himself played in his sixth All-Star game, the My navi All-Star Game 2022. He finished the regular season with a .296 batting average, fourth in the league, as well as seven home runs and 47 RBI in 130 games. On November 25, Imamiya won the Pacific League Best Nine Award for the third time in five years and was recognized at the NPB Awards 2022. On April 12, 2023, Imamiya hit 350 sacrifice bants the fourth players in the NPB history, and the youngest record. He also hit a walk-off double in a game against the Orix Buffaloes on August 31. In 2023 season, he played 126 games, and finished the season with a .255 batting average, a 9 home runs, 24 sacrifice bants, and a 48 RBIs.

International career

In 2013, Imamiya was elected to 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 ...

at the 2013 BASEBALL CHALLENGE

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

vs.

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 2014, Imamiya was elected to the Japan national baseball team at the 2014 MLB Japan All-Star Series. On February 16, 2015, Imamiya was elected to the Japan national baseball team at the GLOBAL BASEBALL MATCH 2015 SAMURAI JAPAN vs. Europe National Team. On November 2, 2015, Imamiya was elected to the Japan national baseball team at the

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 ...

. February 15, 2016, Imamiya was elected to the Japan national baseball team at the 2016 SAMURAI JAPAN Warm-up Game Japan vs Chinese Taipei. On March 1, 2018, Imamiya was elected to the Japan national baseball team at the ENEOS SAMURAI JAPAN Series Japan vs

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp

- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Imamiya, Kenta 1991 births Brisbane Bandits players Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Living people Nippon Professional Baseball shortstops Baseball people from Ōita Prefecture Japanese expatriate baseball players in Australia