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 ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for 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 ...

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 has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. He was the youngest player in BayStars franchise history to reach 100, 150, and 200 home runs.

Professional career

Yokohama BayStars/Yokohama DeNA BayStars

Tsutsugo made his rookie debut at age 18 for the Yokohama BayStars and played 3 games in 2010. He played 40 games in 2011, 108 games in 2012 and 23 games in 2013. His slow start were caused by injuries and lack of experience using wooden bats in professional baseball. He became a regular on the team in the 2014 season and played in 114 games. He hit 22 home runs, drove in 77 RBIs, and hit .300 with an OBP of .373. In 2015, he was selected to his first

NPB All-Star Game The Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Game is an annual baseball series of All-Star Games (in most years, two games are played, but three such games can and have been played as well) between players from the Central League and the Pacific Lea ...

. He hit 24 home runs, drove in 95 runs, and hit .309 with an OBP of .395. On July 22, 2016, Tsutsugo became the first player in Nippon Professional Baseball history to have three straight multiple home run games, and in the same month he also became the first to have six multiple home run games in a month. In 2016, he was selected to his second consecutive NPB All-Star Game and was the All-Star Game MVP. He led with Central League in home runs (44) and RBIs (110). He also had career highs in batting average (.322) and OBP (.430). Tsutsugo was selected to the next three NPB All-Star Games, winning the Kantosho (敢闘選手賞) or "Fighting Spirit Award" in all three appearances. In total, Tsutsugo appeared in five NPB All-Star Games from 2015 to 2019. In January 2019, Tsutsugo gave a speech at the Foreign correspondents club of Japan where he criticized the harsh regimentation and focus on tournaments in youth baseball in Japan. In addition he stated that he would like to play in Major League Baseball in the future. After the 2019 season, on November 15, 2019, BayStars announced it was allowing Tsutsugo to enter the

posting system The is a baseball player transfer system that operates between Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). Despite the drafting of the United States – Japanese Player Contract Agreement, unveiled in 1967 to regulate ...

to play in

(MLB).

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 16, 2019, Tsutsugo signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the

. On March 25, 2020, he returned to Japan due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On July 24, 2020, Tsutsugo was the starting third baseman, making his MLB debut on Opening Day against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. That day, he recorded his first MLB hit, a home run off of Hyun-jin Ryu. He finished the season hitting .197/.314/.395 with 8 home runs and 24 RBIs in 51 games. On May 11, 2021, Tsutsugo was designated for assignment by the Rays after hitting .167 in 87 plate appearances.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On May 15, 2021, Tsutsugo was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later. He made his Dodgers debut on May 18 as the starting left fielder against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

. In 12 games with the Dodgers, Tsutsugo had three hits in 25 at-bats (.120 average) before being placed on the injured list with a right calf strain. On July 7, he was passed through waivers and sent outright to the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Comets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their ho ...

. On August 14, the Dodgers released Tsutsugo.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On August 16, 2021, he signed a major league contract with the

, and played his first game with the team on the same day. On November 24, 2021, he agreed to a one-year contract with the Pirates for $4 million. On August 3, 2022, Tsutsugo was designated for assignment. He was released on August 5.

Toronto Blue Jays

On August 15, 2022, Tsutsugo signed a minor league deal with the

organization. Tsutsugo was assigned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, where he hit .265/.381/.459 with 5 home runs and 18 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 10.

Texas Rangers

On January 15, 2023, Tsutsugo signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization. In 51 games for the Triple–A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

, he hit .249/.380/.432 with 6 home runs and 33 RBI. On June 22, Tsutsugo opted out his deal and became a free agent.

Staten Island FerryHawks

On August 1, 2023, Tsutsugo signed with the

Staten Island FerryHawks The Staten Island FerryHawks are an American minor-league professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Staten Island. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. In 12 games for the FerryHawks, he hit .359/.479/.949 with 7 home runs and 13 RBI.

San Francisco Giants

On August 21, 2023, Tsutsugo signed a minor league contract with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

organization. He hit .311 in 13 games for the Double–A

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...

and finished the year with the Triple–A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

. Tsutsugo elected free agency following the season on November 6. On December 8, 2023, Tsutsugo re–signed with the Giants on a new minor league contract. The Giants released Tsutsugo from his minor league deal on March 21, 2024.

Yokohama DeNA BayStars (second stint)

On April 16, 2024, Tsutsugo signed a contract to return to the old team

International career

Tsutsugo played for

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 ...

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 ...

. Tsutsugo was named the

Pool B Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

Most Valuable Player 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 ...

after batting .364. On August 20, 2018, he was selected for 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 ...

, but on October 26, 2018, he canceled his participation for Samurai Japan.

Playing style

Tsutsugo was 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 ...

throughout his amateur school career until he attended Yokohama High School, where he became a left-handed hitter due to a discovery of a herniated disc during a medical examination.

References

External links

NPB.jp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsutsugoh, Yoshitomo 1991 births Living people Baseball people from Wakayama Prefecture Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Japanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Leones del Escogido players Japanese expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Los Angeles Dodgers players National baseball team players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball left fielders Nippon Professional Baseball right fielders Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball players from Japan 21st-century Japanese sportsmen Major League Baseball third basemen Oklahoma City Dodgers players Round Rock Express players People from Hashimoto, Wakayama Pittsburgh Pirates players Richmond Flying Squirrels players Staten Island FerryHawks players Tampa Bay Rays players Yokohama BayStars players Yokohama DeNA BayStars players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2017 World Baseball Classic players World Baseball Classic players of Japan