Tomoaki Sato (satoto01)

From BR Bullpen

Tomoaki Sato (佐藤友昭)

Bats Left, Throws Left
Height 6' 0", Weight 194 lb.

School Chuo University

Born October 19, 1968 in Aichi Prefecture Japan

Tomoaki Sato was an amateur outfielder. He played at times for the Japanese national team. In the 1994 Baseball World Cup, he hit .378/.439/.649 with 3 home runs, 8 runs and 11 RBI in 10 games. He tied Toshihisa Nishi for the team lead in homers. In the Bronze Medal game, he went 1 for 4 with a run and RBI as Japan's cleanup man as the team won Bronze. He joined Ermidelio Urrutia and Kyung-hwan Cho on the All-Tournament outfield.

During the 1995 Intercontinental Cup, he was 5 for 18 with a double, triple, home run and 6 RBI in 7 games as a DH/LF. In the Gold Medal game, he hit 6th and was 2 for 3 with a double and walk in a loss to Cuba. In the 1996 Olympics, he batted .364/.447/.636 with 8 runs and 7 RBI in 9 games at DH. In the Gold Medal game, he was 0 for 3 with a walk against Omar Luis and Pedro Luis Lazo in a 13-9 loss. Through 2009, it was the closest Japan has come to a Gold in the Olympics.