is a Japanese 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 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 current first squad hitting coach for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 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 previously played for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks since 2007, wearing number 24. In 2009, he batted .312.

Professional career

On November 21, 2006, Hasegawa was drafted by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the 2006 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.

2007–2010 season

In 2007 season, Hasegawa played in the Western League of NPB's minor leagues. On April 22, 2008, Hasegawa debuted in 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 ...

against 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 ...

. And he recorded his first

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

. In 2008 season, Hasegawa finished the regular season in 71 games with a batting average of .235, a 4

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, and a RBI of 24. In 2009 season, Hasegawa finished the regular season in 143 games with a batting average of .312, a 7 home runs, and a RBI of 44. And he selected MAZDA All-Star Game 2009. In 2010 season, Hasegawa finished the regular season in 134 games with a batting average of .255, a 3 home runs, and a RBI of 32.

2011–2015 season

In 2011 season, Hasegawa finished the regular season in 125 games with a batting average of .293, a 4 home runs, and a RBI of 34. And he scored a batting average of .545 in the

2011 Pacific League Climax Series The 2011 Pacific League Climax Series (PLCS) consisted of two consecutive series, Stage 1 being a best-of-three series and Stage 2 being a best-of-six with the top seed being awarded a one-win advantage. The winner of the series advanced to the 20 ...

against

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 contributed to the victory by hitting a clutch hit, which was tied in the 10th inning in Game 3. In 2012 season, Hasegawa changed his uniform number from 30 to 24. He finished the regular season in 126 games with a batting average of .278, a 4 home runs, and a RBI of 37. In 2013 season, Hasegawa recorded a batting average of .418 in the interleague play and won the interleague play Most Valuable Player Award. And he selected MAZDA All-Star Game 2013. He played in all 144 games and recorded a batting average of .341, a 19 home runs, and a RBI of 83. As a result, he won the Pacific League Batting Leader Award and the Pacific League Hitting Leader Award with 198 hits. On November 26, he was honored for the Pacific League Batting Leader Award, the Pacific League Hitting Leader Award, and the Pacific League Best Nine Award at the 2013 Professional Baseball Convention. On July 18, 2014, Hasegawa participated in the MAZDA All-Star Game 2014. On September 3, Hasegawa injured his right ankle in a close play at home base against the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

. In 2014 season, he finished the regular season in 135 games with a batting average of .300, a 6 home runs, and a RBI of 55. And he participated in the

2014 Japan Series The 2014 Japan Series (known as the '' SMBC Nippon Series 2014'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 65th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) championship series known colloquially as the Japan Series. The best-of-seven playoff was won by ...

. On December 4, Hasegawa had surgery on his right ankle. In 2015 season, Hasegawa finished the regular season in 30 games with a batting average of .224, a 5 home runs, and a RBI of 12. And he participated in the

2015 Japan Series The 2015 Japan Series was the 66th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, champions of the Pacific League, played the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, champions of the Central League. The Hawks ...

2016–2021 season

In 2016 season, Hasegawa selected MAZDA All-Star Game 2016. On August 27, he recorded a total of 1,000 hits. He finished the regular season in 122 games with a batting average of .271, a 10 home runs, and a RBI of 51. In 2017 season, Hasegawa only participated in 23 games. However, he contributed to the victory by recording his first home run in the Japan Series in the

2017 Japan Series The 2017 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2017'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason. The 68th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the F ...

. On November 21, he underwent reoperation on his right ankle. In 2018 season, Hasegawa's return was delayed to June 15 due to the effects of surgery, but he finished the regular season in 55 games with a batting average of .287, a 5 home runs, and a RBI of 20. And he participated in the

2018 Japan Series The 2018 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2018'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2018 season. The 69th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff betwee ...

and recorded a RBI hit in Game 4. In 2019 season, Hasegawa only participated in 25 games. However, he contributed to the team's third consecutive victory in the Japan Series by scoring a

Sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

in the

2019 Japan Series The 2019 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2019'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2019 season. The 70th edition of the Japan Series, it was played from 19-23 October. Th ...

Game 3. On July 6, 2020, Hasegawa left the team due to a muscle contusion on his right flank. On August 1, he underwent a

Polymerase chain reaction The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to rapidly make millions to billions of copies (complete or partial) of a specific DNA sample, allowing scientists to take a very small sample of DNA and amplify it (or a part of it) t ...

for

Coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

and was tested positive. Partly because of that, his return was extended until September 29, with only 29 games played. However, he participated in the

2020 Japan Series The 2020 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2020'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2020 season. The 71st edition of the Japan Series, it was played from November 21 to 25. ...

and contributed to the team's fourth consecutive victory. On October 8, 2021, Hasegawa announced his retirement, and a press conference announcing his retirement was held on the following day, the 9th. On October 21, he entered the game against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the bottom of the 7th inning as a substitute and finished his last active at bat. After the game, a retirement ceremony was held for Hasegawa. He finished his final active season with a .260 batting average, 26 hits, three home runs, and 19 RBI in 71 games.

After retirement

Hasegawa has been named first squad hitting coach for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks beginning with the 2022 season.

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp
- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site

- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site 1984 births Baseball outfielders Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Japanese baseball players Living people Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Senshu University alumni Baseball people from Yamagata Prefecture Japanese baseball coaches Nippon Professional Baseball coaches {{Japan-baseball-outfielder-stub