Seiichi Uchikawa

Seiichi Uchikawa
Uchikawa with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
First baseman, Outfielder
Born: (1982-08-04) August 4, 1982 (age 42)
Ōita, Japan
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
NPB debut
March 30, 2001, for the Yokohama BayStars
Last NPB appearance
October 3, 2022, for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows
Career statistics
Batting average.302
Home runs196
Hits2,186
RBI960
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Japan
World Baseball Classic
Gold medal – first place 2009 Los Angeles Team

Seiichi Uchikawa (内川 聖一, Uchikawa Seiichi, born August 4, 1982) is a Japanese former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yokohama BayStars, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and Tokyo Yakult Swallows from 2001 to 2022.

Career

Yokohama BayStars

Yokohama BayStars selected Uchikawa with the first selection in the 2000 NPB draft [jp].

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, 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.[1]

Tokyo Yakult Swallows

On December 11, 2020, Uchikawa signed with Tokyo Yakult Swallows of NPB and held press conference.[2]

On September 27, 2022, Uchikawa announced his retirement from professional baseball.[3]

International career

He was selected for the Japanese national baseball team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, 2013 World Baseball Classic and 2017 World Baseball Classic.

References

  1. ^ "2020年度 自由契約選手". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  2. ^ "内川聖一選手が正式契約!「チームの勝利に貢献できるように頑張りたい」". 東京ヤクルトスワローズ公式サイト Tokyo Yakult Swallows (in Japanese). December 11, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  3. ^ "Baseball: Uchikawa, once hitting machine, announces retirement". nippon.com. Retrieved June 21, 2023.