, born August 7, 1965, is a retired Japanese professional baseball player from

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

, Japan. Sato joined the

Fukuoka Daiei 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. ...

at age 28, but did not live up to expectations with the team. He was traded to the

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 ...

in 1996, and played in 113 games in 1999, marking a .341 batting average. He also broke the team record with 25 consecutive game hits. He was relegated to pinch-hitting duty afterwards, and retired after the 2005 season at age 40. He currently works as a batting coach under Tokyo Yakult Swallows manager

Junji Ogawa was a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball player. He played for the Yakult Swallows and Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Pr ...

. He won a bronze medal in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

before entering the Japanese professional leagues.

References

Baseball Reference
1965 births Living people Baseball people from Sapporo Baseball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic baseball players of Japan Olympic bronze medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in baseball Fukuoka Daiei Hawks players Yakult Swallows players Japanese baseball coaches Nippon Professional Baseball coaches Baseball players at the 1990 Asian Games Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Asian Games competitors for Japan {{Japan-Olympic-medalist-stub