Taiga Egoshi
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is a Japanese professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...
for 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 ...
of
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 ...
. He has previously played in NPB for 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., ...
.


Early Baseball Career

A native of Nagasaki, Taiga started playing softball in 2nd grade all the way to junior high school. He joined Kaisei High School's baseball club but his team never made it to Koshien. Upon entering
Komazawa University , abbreviated as 駒大 ''Komadai'', is one of the oldest universities in Japan. Its history starts in 1592, when a seminary was established to be a center of learning for the young Bhikkhu#Monks in Japan, monks of the Sōtō, Sōtō sect, one of ...
, he participated in the Tohto University League games as an outfielder, and won the League Best Nine Award thrice. Together with later Tigers teammate Ryutaro Umeno, they played in the 2013 Japan-USA University Baseball Championship, where Japan won the 5-game series 3-2. In the autumn of his senior year, he batted 0.357 and led his team to its first league championship since 2001. He recorded a total of 11 home runs in his university career.


Professional career


Hanshin Tigers

Draft He was 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., ...
' 3rd pick in the
2014 Nippon Professional Baseball draft The 2014 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Draft was held on October 23, , for the 50th time at the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa to assign amateur baseball players to the NPB. It was arranged with the special cooperation of Taisho Pharmaceutica ...
. On November 26, he signed a contract for an annual salary of 10 million yen, plus a signing bonus of 60 million. He was assigned the jersey number 25, formerly owned by his
Komazawa University , abbreviated as 駒大 ''Komadai'', is one of the oldest universities in Japan. Its history starts in 1592, when a seminary was established to be a center of learning for the young Bhikkhu#Monks in Japan, monks of the Sōtō, Sōtō sect, one of ...
senior,
Takahiro Arai Takahiro Arai (Japanese: 新井 貴浩, born January 30, 1977, in Naka-ku, Hiroshima) is a Japanese-Korean former professional baseball player. He is the manager of Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball from the 2023 season. ...
(played for the Hanshin Tigers until 2014 season). 2015 During the February spring camp in
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
, he showed early promise by hitting relatively well during batting practice sessions and intra-squad games. He even went 4-for-5 during a practice game against
Samsung Lions The Samsung Lions () are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982. They are based in the southeastern city of Daegu and are members of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Daegu Samsung Lions Park. They have won the Korean Cha ...
in the
KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...
. He continued his productive streak, and eventually made it to the starting roster for the pre-season exhibition games. On March 4, he hit a 2-run homerun from
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 ...
' Kenji Otonari, and became the first Hanshin rookie to hit a home run in an exhibition game since
Takashi Toritani is a Japanese former professional baseball shortstop, commentator, critic, and coach. Toritani was one of the most highly coveted position players in years as a senior for Waseda University in 2003. He holds the current NPB record for most cons ...
in . Fellow rookie Tsuyoshi Ishizaki also recorded the win that day, making them the first Hanshin rookies to record a victory and homerun in an exhibition game since Masashi Fujiwara and
Akinobu Okada (born November 25, 1957) is a Japanese former professional baseball infielder and manager. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 1980 to 1995 for the Hanshin Tigers and Orix BlueWave. Career Playing career Okada played, mostly a ...
in . He batted .267 in all of his exhibition game appearances, and earned himself a spot in the main squad's opening day roster. He decided to skip his university graduation ceremonies in order to attend the season opener, and witnessed the Tigers notch their first victory for the season, and first opening day walk-off win in 74 years. He first appeared as 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 ...
on the 7th inning of the April 2 match 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 ...
, where he got hit by a wild pitch by Tetsuya Yamamoto. He made it to the starting line up 3 days later, but still failed to record a hit. His first hit came from
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 ...
' Shoichi Ino on April 8, but he again went hitless on his next start which prompted management to take him off the active roster on April 13. Despite the demotion, he got his rhythm back in the farm games and was once again called up to the main squad on the 23rd. On his next start, he cracked a 3-run home run off Swallows'
Yoshihisa Naruse Yoshihisa Naruse (Japanese:成瀬 善久, born, October 13, 1985 in Tochigi, Japan) is a Japanese baseball player. He is a pitcher for the Nippon Professional Baseball league team Orix Buffaloes. He made his debut in the 2006 season. In 2007, N ...
on his first at-bat. The home run - his first official one, helped Hanshin take two straight wins during an early season slump. On July 24, he homered in his second straight game and became the first rookie in franchise history to accomplish the feat since Akinobu Okada in 1980. Two days later, he notched his first career '' modasho''(3 hits in a game) against Yokohama and became the first rookie to accomplish the feat since Shunsuke Fujikawa in . 2016 He hit the first home run of the season as a pinch hitter in the match against Yokohama DeNA Baystars on April 3 (
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 ...
), and hit the second home run as a pinch hitter in the next match 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 ...
(
Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium (whose former site is now occupied by the Tokyo Dome Hotel and a plaza for this stadium). In Japan, it is often us ...
) on April 7. On the next day, in the match against
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 ...
(
Hanshin 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 ...
), when he was appointed as batting second, center fielder, he hit a solo home run in the first at-bat in the bottom of the 1st inning and achieved 3 consecutive home runs over 3 games. Furthermore, on April 9, the next day, when he was appointed as batting second, he hit a solo home run in the first at-bat from
Hiroki Kuroda is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for Hiroshima Toyo Carp from 1997 to 2007 before playing in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2008 to 2011 and ...
, and he has achieved 4 consecutive home runs since
Craig Brazell Craig Walter Brazell (born May 10, 1980) is an American former professional baseball player, where he played as a first baseman. Early life Brazell attended Jefferson Davis High School (Montgomery, Alabama), Jefferson Davis High School in Montgo ...
in in Hanshin Tigers, and as a Japanese player in Tigers, since Tomoaki Kanemoto in . However, from the end of April, his condition deteriorated, and he experienced no hits in 21 consecutive at-bats. After the beginning of May, he made a round trip between the main squad and the farm. He played 72 main squad games in total and recorded 7 home runs with a batting average of .209. 2017 Following the previous year, he went back and forth between the main squad and the farm. He played in 28 main squad games, but he failed to hit a home run for the first time since he became a professional, and his batting average remained at .077. In the Climax Series First Stage (Koshien) against Yokohama DeNA Baystars, he participated in all three games as a pinch hitter and
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 ...
. After the season, he worked on left-handed practice with a view to switching to a
switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers, although there are some exceptions. Characteristics Right-han ...
. 2018 Before the season, he changed his registration from R/R to R/D, but gave up switch hitter around mid-March. He decided to focus on right-handed hitting again. He spent most of the season in the farm, and in the main squad official match, he hit a home run for the first time in two years in the match against
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 ...
on May 12 (
MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima , also called , is a baseball stadium in Minami-ku, Hiroshima, Japan. It is used primarily for baseball and is the home of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Japanese Central League. The ballpark has a capacity of 32,000 people and opened on Apri ...
), but the batting average is sluggish with .150 in 29 games. Continuing from the previous year, he often participated in the middle of the game, and the home run was only this one. In the official game of the Western League, he participated in 88 games mainly as the first batter from the opening. With a batting average of .212, he recorded 15 home runs and 51 runs, second in the league, and 25 stolen bases, third in the league, and he contributed to the Western league champion for the first time in eight years and the farm champion for the first time in 12 years. 2019 He participated in 49 games mainly as a pinch runner and defense. 2020 He was sent to the farm because of the close contact with
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 ...
. When he returned to practice in the Western League on October 9, he changed his batting form to hold the bat short, achieved a batting average of .338 in the Western League, and was promoted to the main squad again on November 3. He participated in 45 main squad games, but he mainly appeared as a pinch runner, and the number of at bats remained at 13 at-bats, with 0 hits. 2021 He was mainly used as a pinch runner and defense, and although he participated in 31 games, he only had three at-bats, and he had no hits two years in a row.On December 3, he renewed his contract and signed with an estimated annual salary of 11 million yen, which was 2 million yen down. 2022 He participated in 24 main squad games, mainly as a pinch runner and defense.


Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

On October 18, 2022, during the off-season, he was traded to 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 ...
in a two-for-two trade alongside Yukiya Saitoh, with Ryo Watanabe, and Yuto Takahama heading to Hanshin in return. He was assigned the jersey number 37.


Playing Style

During his university years, Egoshi was known for his slugging power and speed (5.8 seconds for a 50-meter dash). His throwing arm can also be relied upon for defense in the outfield. Eventually, he became known as the triple three right-handed slugger (batting average above .300, hit 30 homers since high school, and stole 30 bases).


Detailed information


Batting record by year


Defensive record by year


References


External links


NPB statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Egoshi, Taiga 1993 births Living people Baseball people from Nagasaki Prefecture Komazawa University alumni Japanese baseball players Hanshin Tigers players category:Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players category:Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders