Richard
(Richard Sunagawa)
Richard with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – No. 52
Infielder
Born: (1999-06-18) June 18, 1999
Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa, Japan
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
NPB debut
September 2, 2021, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
NPB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.157
Home runs10
RBI26
Hits36
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Richard Makoto Sunagawa O'Brien (砂川 リチャード オブライエン, Sunagawa Richard O'Brien, born June 18, 1999) is a Japanese professional baseball Infielder for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

In 2022, he set the Western League record for most home runs in a season.[1]

Professional career

On October 26, 2017, Sunagawa was drafted as a developmental player by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the 2017 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.[2][3]

In the 2018–2019 season, he played in informal matches against the Shikoku Island League Plus's teams and amateur baseball teams, and played in the Western League of NPB's second leagues.

From 2020 season, Sunagawa's register name changes to Richard. On March 16, 2020, Richard re-signed a 6 million yen contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as a registered player under control.[4] On December 17, he was honored for the Western League Home Run Leader Award, the Western League RBI Leader Award and the Western League Outstanding Player Award at the NPB Awards 2020.[5]

September 2, 2021, Richard made his first league debut in the Pacific League against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.[6] And he recorded his first hit on September 4 against the Orix Buffaloes.[7] He also hit his first homer the next day against the Buffaloes on the 5th with a reverse grand slam and drove in six runs.[8] He finished his debut season with a .181 batting average, seven home runs and 20 runs batted in in 34 games.

In the 2022 season, managers and coaches had high hopes for him to become a solid starting player, but he finished the regular season with a .159 batting average, three home runs, and five runs batted in. On the other hand, in the Western League, he hit 29 home runs, the most in league history.[1]

Richard recorded 15 home runs and 56 RBIs in the Western League, and won the Western League Home run Leader Award for the fourth consecutive year and the Western League RBI Leader Award for the third time in the second consecutive year at the NPB AWARD 2023.[9] However, in the Pacific League, he appeared in 22 games and had a sluggish batting average of .115 with one RBI, and although he had good records in the second league, he has not been able to produce results in the first league.[10]

Personal life

Richard is of partial American descent and, according to teammate Carter Stewart Jr., "speaks pretty good English."[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Nishinippon Sports baseball news V逸ソフトバンク打線の誤算は「ロマン砲」「外国人」若手台頭に希望も". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). October 18, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Ryūkyū Shimpō news 砂川「チャンス逃さず」 育成枠でソフトバンク入団". Ryūkyū Shimpō (in Japanese). December 2, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  3. ↑ In the NPB, in addition to the 70 registered players under control (active roster of players), each team can have developmental players for the purpose of improving their baseball skills and training manners. They aim to be promoted to registered players under control within the 3-year contract period (non-tender FA players and contract expired players renew their contract every year).
  4. ↑ "Nikkan Sports baseball news ソフトバンク育成の星リチャード「ムネリン魂」誓う". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). March 16, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Nippon Professional Baseball 2020年度 表彰選手 (ウエスタン・リーグ)". NPB.jp (in Japanese). December 17, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Nishinippon Sports baseball news 1軍初昇格即スタメンのリチャードほろ苦デビュー…空振り三振、三ゴロ、空振り三振". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). September 2, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Sankei Sports baseball news 【球界ここだけの話(2438)】ソフトバンク、始まったリチャードの恩返し". Sankei Sports (in Japanese). September 5, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Nishinippon Sports baseball news ソフトバンク・リチャード プロ1号は逆転満塁弾！". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). September 5, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Nippon Professional Baseball 2023年度 表彰選手 (ウエスタン・リーグ)". NPB.jp (in Japanese). November 28, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Nikkan Sports baseball news 【【ソフトバンク】リチャードは現状維持1000万円「本塁打王を」ドライブラインでトップ級数字". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  11. ↑ Halley, Jim (November 27, 2019). "'I Feel Like A Trailblazer': Carter Stewart Adapts To Life In Japan". Baseball America. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
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