is a Japanese

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player for the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He previously played in NPB for the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

and

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 ...

Career

Seibu Lions/Saitama Seibu Lions

In the 2005

draft, the

Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

selected Sumitani with the first selection. On November 15, 2005, he signed with the Lions. On March 25, 2006, Sumitani made his NPB debut, and on March 29, he hit a grand slam off of D.J. Carrasco of the

Fukuoka 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. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

, and became the fifth NPB player drafted out of high school to hit a grand slam in his first season. He also became the first rookie out of high school to homer twice in a game since

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed "Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Matsui pl ...

did so 13 years previous. He finished his rookie season with a .181/.193/.290 slash line. In 2007, Sumitani played in 28 games for the Lions, logging a .174/.204/.304 sash line. For the 2008 season, Sumitani played in 46 contests with Seibu, batting .125/.149/.188. Sumitani also won the 2008 Japan Series with the Lions, beating the

in 7 games. In 2009, Sumitani played in 112 games with Seibu, posting a .220/.260/.308 batting line with 3 home runs and 25 RBI. Sumitani only appeared in 5 total games in 2010, 4 for the farm team and 1 for the main club as he dealt with an injury. He had a resurgent season in 2011, posting a .218/.244/.265 slash line with 2 home runs and 22 RBI in 122 games, and earned his first career NPB All-Star selection. The following season, Sumitani played in 139 games for the Lions, slashing .194/.232/.233, and won the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

after the season. For the 2013 season, Sumitani hit .215/.274/.291 with 5 home runs and 43 RBI in 141 games with the team. The next year, Sumitani slashed .202/.238/.297 with 7 home runs and 36 RBI in 125 games. In 2015, Sumitani played in 133 games for Seibu, and hit .211/.247/.281 with 4 home runs and 35 RBI. For the season, he was named a two-time Gold Glove Award winner and a two-time NPB All-Star, and also took home the Pacific League

Best Nine Award The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists. History While the Best Nine Award was first presen ...

at catcher. In 2016, Sumitani was an All-Star for the third time in his career after he hit .218/.251/.269 with 1 home run and 22 RBI in 117 games. The following season, Sumitani played in 104 games for Seibu, posting a .251/.289/.348 slash line with 5 home runs and 30 RBI. In 2018, Sumitani played in 47 games for the team, logging a .248/.265/.310 batting line with no home runs and 9 RBI on the year. He became a free agent after the season.

Yomiuri Giants

On November 26, 2018, Sumitani signed contract with the

and was assigned the number 27. For the 2019 season, Sumitani played in 58 games with Yomiuri, slashing .262/.309/.437 with 6 home runs and 26 RBI. In the

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

delayed 2020 season, Sumitani played in 56 games with Yomiuri, batting .180/.252/.230. Sumitani began the 2021 season with the Giants, posting a .188/.245/.250 slash line in 44 games.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

On July 4, 2021, Sumitani was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations.

International career

He was selected

Japan national baseball team The is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009, as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Sof ...

at the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike ...

2015 WBSC Premier12 The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan. The South Korean ...

and

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 March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp

- Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Official site 1987 births Living people Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball catchers Baseball people from Kyoto Saitama Seibu Lions players Seibu Lions players Yomiuri Giants players category:Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2017 World Baseball Classic players {{japan-baseball-catcher-stub