Japanese professional baseball (NPB) veteran outfielder Norichika Aoki (42, Yakult), who played in the 메이저사이트 Major League Baseball (MLB), will retire after this season.
Japanese media “Sponichi” reported on the 13th that “Aoki will end his 21-year professional career after this season.”
Having played for 21 years in the professional league including six years in the Major League, Aoki has had 2,723 hits in total (1949 in Japan, 774 in the U.S.). Aoki, who mainly played as a pinch hitter this season, has been accompanying the first team since his registration was removed on April 5, comforting his juniors and serving as a mental pillar for the team.
Aoki has been building up his body with plans to return to the first team, but it is known that the team fell to the bottom, eliminating the possibility of entering autumn baseball, and making the game centered on young players, solidifying his intention to retire and recently notifying the club as well.
In Japan, Aoki is nicknamed “Mr. Swallows” as he only plays in the Yakult. Despite his short stature at 175 centimeters, he contributed significantly to the team as he displayed sophistication as well as slugging and speed. Since the 2000s, he has achieved the first 200 hits in the two seasons of the NPB in 2005 (202 hits) and 2010 (209 hits). He has also won numerous titles including Rookie of the Year, First place hitter, and stealer.
He entered the Major League in 2012 and played for several teams in six seasons, including Milwaukee, Kansas City, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, Toronto, and the New York Mets.
Aoki, who achieved 2,000 hits in 2017 between the U.S. and Japan, returned to his home country Yakult in 2018 and has consistently played his part as a veteran.
Aoki has also been a member of the national team for a long time. He played in international competitions such as the 2006, 2009, and 2017 World Baseball Classic, and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he had quite a few hits against Korea, and is well known among Korean baseball fans. He is close to Lee, who played with him in the Seattle Mariners in 2016, and sent him a bouquet of flowers at his retirement ceremony.