Hiroki Minei

Hiroki Minei (嶺井 博希, Minei Hiroki, born June 4, 1991) is a Japanese professional baseball catcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

Hiroki Minei
Minei with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – No. 12
Catcher
Born: (1991-06-04) June 4, 1991
Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
NPB debut
April 15, 2014, for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars
Career statistics
(through 2022 season)
Batting average.219
Home runs20
RBI126
Hits225
Teams

Early baseball career
Minei with the Asia University Baseball Club in 2013.

Minei went on to Okinawa Shogaku High School, where he played catcher and battery with Nao Higashihama to win the 80th Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament.[1]

He went on to Asia University, where he teamed up with senior Higashihama to win the Tohto University Baseball League in the fall of his sophomore year, and the Meiji Jingu Baseball Tournament championship in the fall of his senior year. He was also selected to the Japan national baseball team as a senior and played in the 39th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series.[2][3]

He was in a battery team with his classmate Aren Kuri and Yasuaki Yamasaki, one year his junior, in addition to Higashihama during his college days.[4]

Professional career

Yokohama DeNA BayStars

On October 24, 2013, Minei was drafted by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in the 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.[2]

2014–2020 season
Minei with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in 2014.

On April 15, 2014, Minei made his first league debut in the Central League against the Chunichi Dragons.[5] On June 21, in an interleague play against the Saitama Seibu Lions, he recorded his first hit and RBI scored on a triple in the bottom of the 10th inning of extra innings, which became a walk-off hit.[6] In 2014 season, he played in 10 games his rookie year.

On April 25, 2015, Minei recorded his first home run against the Chunichi Dragons.[7] In 2015 season, he played in a career-high 74 games and finished the regular season with a .237 batting average, five home runs, and 26 RBI.

In 2016 season, he played only 11 games, he did hit the winning run in Game 2 of the 2016 Central League Climax Series against the Yomiuri Giants on October 10, helping his team advance to the final stage.[8]

In 2017 season, Minei finished the regular season with a .248 batting average, three home runs, and 12 RBI in 52 games. And he had a two-RBI hit in Game 3 of the first stage of the 2017 Central League Climax Series against the Hanshin Tigers on October 17, helping his team qualify for the final stage.[9] In the 2017 Japan Series against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks he played in Games 1, 3, 5 and 6.[10]

In 2018 season, Minei finished the regular season with a personal best 91 games played, 37 hits, a .177 batting average, 5 home runs, and 25 RBI. On November 26, he renewed his contract with an estimated salary of 27 million yen.[11]

On August 24, 2019, he saved his team by hitting a two-run homer in a game in which a loss versus the Yomiuri Giants would have eliminated the team's own championship.[12] In 2019 season, he was sluggish, batting .211 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in 64 games played.

In 2020 season, Minei was struck from the first team registration at the end of the season and played in only 41 games, playing for the second team, but he batted .327 and drove in eight RBI. On December 4 he renewed his contract at an estimated annual salary of 30 million yen.[13]

2021–2022 season

In 2021 season, Minei finished the season with 36 appearances, partly due to right elbow cleaning surgery in September, and his contract was renewed on November 18 at an estimated salary of 27 million yen.[14]

On May 5, 2022, he hit a home run for the first time in three seasons against the Chunichi Dragons.[15] In a June 7 interleague game against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, he assisted Shota Imanaga as catcher in the team's first no-hitter in 52 years.[16] In 2022 season, he played in a career-high 93 games and finished the regular season with a .203 batting average, five home runs, and 30 RBI.

Minei has decided to exercise his domestic free agent rights acquired for the 2022 season.[17] The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks offered him a four-year contract with an estimated total value of 300 million yen, and he decided to move to the Hawks.[18]

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

On November 21, 2022, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks announced that Minei had joined the team. His uniform number became 12.[19]

References
  1. "High school baseball .com column 沖縄尚学（沖縄）編「東浜―嶺井の黄金バッテリーでセンバツ制覇！沖縄尚学のつながり！". High school baseball .com (in Japanese). Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  2. "Kanagawa Shimbun Baystars news 【横浜DeNa：正捕手担える逸材、ドラフト3位の嶺井(亜大)に球団が指名あいさつ". Kanagawa Shimbun (in Japanese). October 28, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  3. "Asia University Sports site interview 硬式野球部OB 嶺井 博希 氏". Asia University Sports site (in Japanese). January 19, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  4. "Weekly Baseball online News & Column ストーリーの幸せな結末――山崎康晃、通算150セーブへの道程／FOR REAL - in progress -" (in Japanese). Weekly Baseball online. July 23, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  5. "Chunichi Dragons Game Leaport Player Results 一軍試合日程・結果 試合速報 打順結果 2014年4月15日(火) 中日 - DeNA　1回戦 18時00分開始". Chunichi Dragons Official site (in Japanese). April 15, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  6. "Sports Nippon baseball news プロ初安打がサヨナラ打！嶺井 初体験尽くしに「何が起きたか…」". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). June 21, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  7. "Chunichi Dragons Game Leaport Player Results 一軍試合日程・結果 試合速報 2015年4月25日(土) DeNA - 中日 5回戦 14時00分開始". Chunichi Dragons Official site (in Japanese). April 25, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  8. "Sports Nippon baseball news DeNA 初のCSファイナル進出！延長11回に嶺井がV打". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). October 10, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  9. "Sports Nippon baseball news ラミDeNAも逆転"下克上"！嶺井殊勲打 突破率0%覆した". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). October 18, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  10. "Nippon Professional Baseball Game Leaport SMBC日本シリーズ2017". NPB.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  11. "Sports Nippon baseball news DeNA・嶺井 800万円増でサイン し烈正捕手争いに闘志". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). November 26, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  12. "Sports Nippon baseball news DeNA嶺井　巨人のM灯阻止＆自力V消滅阻止へ逆転2号2ラン". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). August 24, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  13. "Sports Hochi baseball news 【DeNA】嶺井博希 3%減の3,000万円でサイン「進化していけたら」". Sports Hochi (in Japanese). December 4, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  14. "Sports Nippon baseball news DeNA・嶺井 300万円ダウンで契約更改「契約を結んでもらえるだけでありがたい」". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). November 18, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  15. "Nikkansports Sports baseball news 【DeNA】ムード一変させた嶺井博希の984日ぶり弾「技術ない」絶妙返しで満員の観客沸かす". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). May 5, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  16. "Sports Nippon baseball news ノーヒッターDeNA・今永が一夜明けで取材対応し「実感は今でもないです」お祝い件数も明かす". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). June 8, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  17. "Sports Nippon baseball news DeNA・嶺井 FA権行使を決断 既に球団側に伝える 近日中に発表へ". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  18. "Sports Hochi baseball news 【DeNA】FAの嶺井博希、ソフトバンク入り決断　4年総額3億円を双方提示も". Sports Hochi (in Japanese). November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  19. "Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks press release 2022/11/21(月) プレスリリース 嶺井博希選手 入団のお知らせ". Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site (in Japanese). November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
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