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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

in the Texas Rangers organization. He has 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 (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and for the Yokohama BayStars/Yokohama DeNA BayStars 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 was the youngest player in BayStars franchise history to reach 100, 150, and 200 home runs. On July 22, 2016, Tsutsugo became the first player in Nippon Professional Baseball history to have three straight multiple home run games, and in the same month he also became the first to have six multiple home run games in a month.

Professional career

Yokohama BayStars (2010–2019)

Tsutsugo made his rookie debut at age 18 for the Yokohama BayStars and played 3 games in 2010. He played 40 games in 2011, 108 games in 2012 and 23 games in 2013. His slow start were caused by injuries and lack of experience using wooden bats in professional baseball. He became a regular on the team in the 2014 season and played in 114 games. He hit 22 home runs, drove in 77 RBIs, and hit .300 with an OBP of .373. In 2015, he was selected to his first

NPB All-Star Game The Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Game is an annual baseball series of All-Star Games (in most years, two games are played, but three such games can and have been played as well) between players from the Central League and the Pacific Leag ...

. He hit 24 home runs, drove in 95 runs, and hit .309 with an OBP of .395. In 2016, he was selected to his second consecutive NPB All-Star Game and was the All-Star Game MVP. He led with Central League in home runs (44) and RBIs (110). He also had career highs in batting average (.322) and OBP (.430). Tsutsugo was selected to the next three NPB All-Star Games, winning the Kantosho (敢闘選手賞) or "Fighting Spirit Award" in all three appearances. In total, Tsutsugo appeared in five NPB All-Star Games from 2015 to 2019. In January 2019, Tsutsugo gave a speech at the Foreign correspondents club of Japan where he criticized the harsh regimentation and focus on tournaments in youth baseball in Japan. In addition he stated that he would like to play in Major League Baseball in the future. After the 2019 season, on November 15, 2019, BayStars announced it was allowing Tsutsugo to enter the

posting system The is a baseball player transfer system that operates between Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). Despite the drafting of the United States – Japanese Player Contract Agreement, unveiled in 1967 to regulate ...

to play in

(MLB).

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 16, 2019, Tsutsugo signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the

. On March 25, 2020, he returned to Japan due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On July 24, 2020, Tsutsugo was the starting third baseman, making his MLB debut on Opening Day against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. That day, he recorded his first MLB hit, a home run off of Hyun-jin Ryu. He finished the season hitting .197/.314/.395 with 8 home runs and 24 RBIs in 51 games. On May 11, 2021, Tsutsugo was designated for assignment by the Rays after hitting .167 in 87 plate appearances.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On May 15, 2021, Tsutsugo was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later. He made his Dodgers debut on May 18 as the starting left fielder against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

. In 12 games with the Dodgers, Tsutsugo had three hits in 25 at-bats (.120 average) before being placed on the injured list with a right calf strain. On July 7, he was passed through waivers and sent outright to the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...

. On August 14, the Dodgers released Tsutsugo.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On August 16, 2021, he signed a major league contract with the

, and played his first game with the team on the same day. On November 24, 2021, he agreed to a one year contract with the Pirates for $4 million. On August 3, 2022, Tsutsugo was designated for assignment. He was released on August 5.

Toronto Blue Jays

On August 15, 2022, Tsutsugo signed a minor league deal with the

organization. Tsutsugo was assigned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, where he hit .265/.381/.459 with 5 home runs and 18 RBI. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

Texas Rangers

On January 15, 2023, Tsutsugo signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization.

International career

Tsutsugo played for

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 ...

in the

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 ...

. Tsutsugo was named the

Pool B Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

after batting .364. On August 20, 2018, he was selected for the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series, but on October 26, 2018, he canceled his participation for Samurai Japan.

Playing style

Tsutsugo was a

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...

throughout his amateur school career until Yokohama High School, where he became a left-handed hitter due to a discovery of a herniated disc during medical examination.

References

External links

NPB.jp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsutsugoh, Yoshitomo 1991 births Living people Baseball people from Wakayama Prefecture Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Japanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Leones del Escogido players Japanese expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Los Angeles Dodgers players National baseball team players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball left fielders Nippon Professional Baseball right fielders Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball players from Japan Major League Baseball third basemen Oklahoma City Dodgers players People from Hashimoto, Wakayama Pittsburgh Pirates players Tampa Bay Rays players Yokohama BayStars players Yokohama DeNA BayStars players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2017 World Baseball Classic players