Kurtis Kiyoshi Suzuki (born October 4, 1983) is an American former

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

, and

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

. Before playing professionally, Suzuki attended

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

, and in 2004, won the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

and the

Johnny Bench John Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from through , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of t ...

and Brooks Wallace awards. That year, the Athletics selected him in the second round of the MLB draft, and Suzuki made his MLB debut in 2007. He was named an MLB All-Star in 2014 as a member of the Twins while hitting a career-best .288. In 2019, Suzuki caught for the Nationals as they won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

, making him both a College World Series and MLB World Series champion.

Early life

Suzuki was born to Warren and Kathleen Suzuki in

Wailuku, Hawaii Wailuku is a census-designated place (CDP) in and county seat of Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 17,697 at the 2020 census. Wailuku is located just west of Kahului, at the mouth of the Iao Valley. In the early 20th cent ...

, and attended Henry Perrine Baldwin High School from which he graduated in 2001. Suzuki was mentored as a youth by Hawaiian MLB scout Walter Isamu Komatsubara. He managed a .328 batting average as a senior at Baldwin.

College career

Suzuki attended

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball The Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball team represents California State University, Fullerton in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with the other CSUF athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Big West Conference. Since its e ...

team. CSUF appeared in the 2003 College World Series and captured the 2004 College World Series championship, thanks to Suzuki's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving the Titans a 3–2 win over the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

. That year, he won the

Johnny Bench Award The Buster Posey Award, formerly known as the Johnny Bench Award, was created in 2000 to honor college baseball's top catcher in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The award is administered by the Greater Wichita Area S ...

as the country's top collegiate catcher. He was also selected All-American by two publications, ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' and ''Collegiate Baseball''. He was also the recipient of the first-ever

Brooks Wallace Award The Brooks Wallace Award is an award given by the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) to the best college baseball shortstop of the year. The award has been given annually since 2004. Until 2008 the award was presented to the nation's most outstandi ...

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

The Athletics drafted Suzuki in the second round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft and assigned him to the Single-A Short Season

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadiu ...

, where he batted .297 and committed just one

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

in 46 games. His first full season of professional baseball came in 2005, with Single-A team the

Stockton Ports The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at ...

. Playing in 114 games, Suzuki put up a .277 average, 12

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 65 RBIs and a .440

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

. Moving up to the Double-A Midland RockHounds in 2006, Suzuki batted .285 with a .392 OBP. He began the 2007 season 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 affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ye ...

Oakland Athletics

Suzuki joined the major league club on June 9, 2007, after rarely used catcher

Adam Melhuse Adam Michael Melhuse (born March 27, 1972) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers. He is was the hitting coa ...

was traded to the Texas Rangers, and made his debut three days later as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

in a game against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

. On September 10, 2007, Suzuki hit his first grand slam in the second inning against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

. For the 2008 season, Suzuki was the starting catcher while

Rob Bowen Robert McClure Bowen (born February 24, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 2003 to 2008 for the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and the Oakland Athletic ...

served as backup. In the first 20 regular season games, Suzuki started 18. He ended the season with a .279 batting average in 148 games. During the 2009 season, Suzuki had a career-high 15 home runs and 88 RBIs, and batted .274 in 147 games. Suzuki led the A's in RBIs, and became only the second catcher in the franchise's history to do so. He also led the team in hits (156), doubles (37) and total bases (240), and was second in home runs and runs scored behind teammate

Jack Cust John Joseph "Jack" Cust III (born January 7, 1979) is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego ...

. On July 23, 2010, Suzuki signed a four-year extension with the

, estimated to be worth $16.25 million. At the end of the 2010 season, Suzuki ended with a .242 average with 13 home runs and 71 RBIs. The following season, he hit .237 with 14 home runs and 44 RBIs.

Washington Nationals

On August 3, 2012, Suzuki was traded to the

for minor league catcher

David Freitas David Joseph Freitas (born March 18, 1989) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, and Milwaukee Brewe ...

. During the 2013 season, Suzuki platooned with

Wilson Ramos Wilson Abraham Ramos Campos (born August 10, 1987), nicknamed "The Buffalo", is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals ...

. On May 12, 2013, Suzuki was ejected for the first time in his MLB career by

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per' ...

John Tumpane for arguing a strike-three call. Kurt Suzuki on August 22, 2015

Return to Oakland

On August 22, 2013, Suzuki was traded back to the

for minor leaguer

Dakota Bacus Dakota John Bacus (born April 2, 1991) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals. Career Oakland Athletics Drafted out of Indiana State University by the Oakland At ...

. He played in 15 games for Oakland in 2013.

Minnesota Twins

A free agent after the 2013 season, Suzuki signed with the

on December 23, 2013. Suzuki was named to the

2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 85th edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the home of the Minnesota Twins. This was the third All-Star Game played in the Tw ...

, finishing up the game with his Twins battery-mate, Glen Perkins. He agreed to a two-year contract extension with the team on July 31, 2014. In his first season with Minnesota, he hit a career-high .288 with 3 home runs and 61 RBIs. The following season he hit .240 with 5 home runs and 50 RBIs. In 2016, he hit .258 with 8 home runs but had his season shortened due to injury.

Atlanta Braves

On January 30, 2017, Suzuki signed a one-year contract for $1.5 million with the

. He set a career high in home runs that season, hitting 19 in 276 at-bats while platooning with

Tyler Flowers Cole Tyler Flowers (born January 24, 1986) is an American former professional baseball catcher. Flowers was drafted by the Braves in the 33rd round of the 2005 MLB draft. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox from 200 ...

. On September 23, 2017, Suzuki and the Braves agreed to a one-year extension worth $3.5 million. In 2018 he batted .271/.332/.444 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs in 347 at bats.

Washington Nationals (second stint)

On November 20, 2018, the

announced that they had signed Suzuki to a two-year contract worth $10 million. In 2019 he batted .264/.324/.486 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs in 280 at bats. On October 23, 2019, Suzuki became the first Hawaii-born player to hit a home run in the

, doing so off of Justin Verlander in Game 2. A

hip flexor A flexor is a muscle that flexes a joint. In anatomy, flexion (from the Latin verb ''flectere'', to bend) is a joint movement that decreases the angle between the bones that converge at the joint. For example, one’s elbow joint flexes when o ...

strain scratched him from the remaining games of the series but the Nationals won in seven games, notching their first championship and earning Suzuki his first World Series ring. In 2020, Suzuki allowed 28 stolen bases, tied for the NL lead.

Los Angeles Angels

On January 15, 2021, Suzuki signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the

. On April 20, 2021, Suzuki became the 16th catcher to record 10,000 career putouts at the position. On March 16, 2022, Suzuki signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract to return to the Angels. On September 20, 2022, Suzuki announced his plans to retire at season's end. His final appearance on October 4 was on his 39th birthday and against his original MLB team the

Personal life

Suzuki is a fourth-generation

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

. He was raised in Maui and graduated from Baldwin High School. He married his wife Renee Marie Suzuki (née Vignery) in January 2007. They met at CSUF, where she was a fellow

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

who played volleyball. They have three children, a daughter born in April 2011 and sons born in November 2013 and July 2016. Suzuki took a brief paternity leave after his daughter's birth in 2011.

Philanthropy

In 2012, Suzuki and his wife Renee founded the Kurt Suzuki Family Foundation, a charitable nonprofit dedicated to supporting scientific research into chronic illnesses and kidney diseases. He and his wife (along with

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

and Katie Cabrera) have also helped former Titan catcher Jon Wilhite, who was severely injured in the car crash that killed Nick Adenhart.

References

External links

*
BaseballAmerica.com: 2006 Player Statistics: Kurt Suzuki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuki, Kurt 1983 births American baseball players of Japanese descent American expatriate baseball players in Canada American League All-Stars Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Hawaii Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Hawaii people of Japanese descent Living people Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball catchers Midland RockHounds players Minnesota Twins players Oakland Athletics players People from Maui County, Hawaii Phoenix Desert Dogs players Sacramento River Cats players Stockton Ports players Vancouver Canadians players Washington Nationals players All-American college baseball players Anchorage Bucs players