Atsushi Fujii

From BR Bullpen

Atsushi Fujii (藤井淳志)

Bats Right or Both (has alternated), Throws Right
Height 5' 11", Weight 170 lb.

School University of Tsukuba
High School Toyohashi Higashi Senior High School

Born May 20, 1981 in Aichi Prefecture Japan

Atsushi Fujii has been a backup outfielder in Nippon Pro Baseball. After college, he played for NTT West in the industrial leagues. He played for Japan in the 2005 Asian Championship and 2005 Baseball World Cup; in the World Cup, he was 3 for 20 with a walk, triple, homer and 6 RBI as a part-time right fielder. Five of the RBI came in one win over Nicaragua.

Fujii was picked by the Chunichi Dragons in the third round of the 2005 draft. He hit .146/.167/.195 for them in 44 plate appearances and 40 games in 2006, scoring 10 runs on 6 hits. He was usually a defensive sub in center field or pinch-runner. He made one appearance in the 2006 Japan Series. In 2007, he hit .203/.224/.297 and stole 7 bases in 9 tries. He scored 14 runs on 13 hits and had 71 plate appearances in 76 games in a similar role to 2006; in the field, he made no errors. He was 0 for 6 in the 2007 Japan Series but drew 3 walks, drove in one run and scored another as Chunichi won its first Japan Series title in over 50 years. He scored the go-ahead run in game 4, pinch-hitting and drawing a walk from Mitsuo Yoshikawa before scoring on a wild pitch later in the inning. In 2008, Fujii hit .171/.194/.371 in 40 games (39 plate appearances), scoring 10 runs on 6 hits. In his first 3 seasons, Fujii has had more runs than hits every year.

Through 2008, his career batting line for Chunichi is .179/.200/.286 in 154 plate appearances over 156 games.