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
Tokyo Yakult Swallows
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...
of
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 has played in
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) for the
Yokohama BayStars and
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Career
Yokohama BayStars
Yokohama BayStars selected Uchikawa with the first selection in the .
On March 30, 2001, Uchikawa made his NPB debut.
He rose to prominence in 2008 with a league-leading .378 batting average.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
During the 2010 offseason, he exercised his free agent option and after weeks of negotiations between the
Yokohama BayStars,
Hiroshima Toyo Carp
The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...
, and
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, he decided to sign a four-year deal with SoftBank worth up to 1.36 billion yen.
On December 2, 2020, he became a free agent.
Tokyo Yakult Swallows
On December 11, 2020, Uchikawa signed with
Tokyo Yakult Swallows
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...
of NPB and held press conference.
International career
He was selected for the
Japanese national baseball team in the
2009 World Baseball Classic
The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26.
Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...
,
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 ...
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
*
1982 births
Living people
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players
Japanese baseball players
National baseball team players
Nippon Professional Baseball infielders
Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners
Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders
People from Ōita (city)
Tokyo Yakult Swallows players
Yokohama BayStars players
2009 World Baseball Classic players
2013 World Baseball Classic players
2017 World Baseball Classic players
{{japan-baseball-outfielder-stub