Seiji Uebayashi
Uebayashi with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Chunichi Dragons – No. 51
Outfielder
Born: (1995-08-01) August 1, 1995
Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
debut
May 21, 2015, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
NPB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.242
Home runs57
RBI203
Hits412
Stolen base48
Sacrifice bunt39
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Japan
U-18 Baseball World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2013 Taichung Team
Asia Professional Baseball Championship
Gold medal – first place 2017 Tokyo Team

Seiji Uebayashi (上林 誠知, Uebayashi Seiji, born August 1, 1995) is a professional Japanese baseball outfielder for the Chunichi Dragons. He was drafted and played primarily for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Early baseball career

Uebayashi participated with Takahiro Kumagai and Kosuke Baba in the 2rd grade summer the 94th Japanese High School Baseball Championship, 3rd grade spring the 85th Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament and 3rd grade summer the 98th Japanese High School Baseball Championship at the Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School.[1]

Professional career

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

On October 24, 2013, Uebayashi was drafted by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.[2]

2014–2015 season

In 2014 season, Uebayashi played in informal matches against Shikoku Island League Plus's teams and amateur baseball teams, and played in the Western League of NPB's minor leagues.

On May 21, 2015, Uebayashi debuted in the Pacific League against the Orix Buffaloes.[3] And on August 25, he recorded his first hit and home run with a Grand slam against the Chiba Lotte Marines.[4] Uebayashi played in the 2015 Pacific League Climax Series and the 2015 Japan Series in the postseason.[5][6] On November 25, he was honored for the Western League Batting Leader Award, the Western League Most Stolen base Leader Award, the Western League Outstanding Player Award, the Western League Outstanding Performance Award, the Western League Rookie of the Year Award, and the Western League Expectation Award at the NPB AWARDS 2015.[7] In 2015 season, Uebayashi played 15 games in the Pacific League.

2016–2020 season

In 2016 season, Uebayashi played 14 games in the Pacific League.

In 2017 season, Uebayashi finished the regular season in 134 games with a batting average of .260, a 13 home runs, a RBI of 51, and a 12 stolen bases. And he played in the 2017 Pacific League Climax Series and the 2017 Japan Series in the postseason.

In 2018 season, Uebayashi played in all 143 games and recorded a batting average of .270, a 22 home runs, a RBI of 62, and a 13 stolen bases. And the 14th triple was the first record in 65 years in the NPB with the top result of the Pacific League in 2018. [8] And he played in the 2018 Pacific League Climax Series and the 2018 Japan Series in the postseason.

In 2019 season, Uebayashi finished the regular season in 99 games with a batting average of .194, a 11 home runs, a RBI of 31, and a 10 stolen bases. And he played in the 2019 Pacific League Climax Series and the 2019 Japan Series in the postseason.

In 2020 season, Uebayashi finished the regular season in 69 games with a batting average of .181, a 6 home runs, a RBI of 20, and a 8 stolen bases. And he played in the 2020 Pacific League Climax Series and the 2020 Japan Series in the postseason.

2021–2023 season

On June 29, 2021, Uebayashi was hit in the shoulder by a pitch in a farm game. He was later diagnosed with a fractured right shoulder blade, necessitating a recovery period of 4-6 weeks.[9] As a result, he finished the regular season with only 39 appearances.

In 2022 season, Uebayasi had batted .301 with one home run and 12 RBI in 33 games to start the season. However, he injured his right leg in practice before a game against the Saitama Seibu Lions on May 18, and on May 20 he was diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles tendon that required four weeks of hospitalization and six months of rehabilitation, making it impossible for him to return during the season.[10]

In 2023 season, Uebayashi finished the regular season in 56 games with a batting average of .185, a RBI of 9. On October 22, the Hawks announced release him.[11]

Chunichi Dragons

On November 29, 2023, Uebayashi signed with the Chunichi Dragons.[12]

2024 season–present

International career

In 2013, Uebayashi represented the Japan national baseball team at the 2013 18U Baseball World Cup.[13]

On November 25, 2017, Uebayashi represented the Japan national baseball team at the 2017 Asia Professional Baseball Championship.[14] In the match against South Korea national baseball team On November 16, he hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the tenth inning after the team lost three points in the top of the tenth inning.[15]

On October 26, 2018, he was selected Japan national baseball team at the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.[16]

On February 27, 2019, he was selected for Japan national baseball team at the 2019 exhibition games against Mexico.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク上林、仙台育英時代が野球人生のベース". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). July 12, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks news (Japanese) 2013/10/25(金) 球団 ドラフト会議、地元九州の加治屋投手ら計8名を指名！". Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site (in Japanese). October 25, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Geme report (Japanese) 2015/05/21（木）第12回戦 福岡ソフトバンク vs オリックス". Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site (in Japanese). May 21, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク上林、プロ1号が逆転満塁本塁打". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). August 26, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Geme report (Japanese) 2015/10/14（水）第1戦 福岡ソフトバンク vs 千葉ロッテ". Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site (in Japanese). October 14, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Geme report (Japanese) 2015/10/28（水）第4戦 東京ヤクルト vs 福岡ソフトバンク". Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site (in Japanese). October 28, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Nippon Professional Baseball (Japanese) "2015年度 表彰選手 (ウエスタン・リーグ)". NPB.jp (in Japanese). November 25, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  8. ↑ "full-count.jp Baseball News (Japanese)ホークス上林、シーズン14本目の三塁打 NPBで65年ぶりの"快記録"". full-count.jp (in Japanese). October 7, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  9. ↑ @NPB_Reddit (July 2, 2021). "Softbank Hawks announced that OF Seiji Uebayashi was diagnosed with a fractured right shoulder blade, after being h…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ↑ "Nishinippon Sports baseball news 上林、今季絶望 アキレス腱断裂の手術で全治6カ月". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). May 20, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks press release 2023/10/22 (日) 来季契約について". Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site (in Japanese). October 22, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Chunichi Dragons press release 2023/11/29 中島宏之選手、上林誠知選手、山本泰寛選手、板山祐太郎選手 入団会見". Chunichi Dragons Official site (in Japanese). November 28, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) 松井、森ら20人／高校日本代表選手一覧". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). August 22, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Japan national baseball team news (Japanese) 大会出場メンバー25名を発表 3監督が記者会見で意気込みを語る". Japan national baseball team Official site (in Japanese). October 12, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese)「稲葉2世」上林が侍監督の期待に起死回生3ラン". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). November 17, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  16. ↑ "「ENEOS侍ジャパンシリーズ2018」ならびに「2018日米野球」に出場するトップチームの出場選手の変更について". 野球日本代表 侍ジャパン オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). October 26, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  17. ↑ "ENEOS 侍ジャパンシリーズ2019「日本 vs メキシコ」に出場するメンバー28名が決定". 野球日本代表 侍ジャパン オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
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