Akihiro Wakabayashi

Akihiro Wakabayashi (若林 晃弘)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 170 lb.

• School Hosei University
• High School Toin Gakuen High School

• Born August 26, 1993 in Nakano, Tokyo Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Akihiro Wakabayashi has played in NPB and for the Japanese national team. His father Kenichi Wakabayashi also played in NPB.

Wakabayashi hit .267 in college, then joined ENEOS in the industrial leagues. He made the Japanese squad for the 2017 Asian Championship; despite hitting only .182/.308/.273, he managed to score 7 runs in 5 games to tie Shunta Tanaka for the team lead. He was 1 for 2 with a walk and two runs in the 6-1 Gold Medal Game win over Taiwan, playing third base. The Yomiuri Giants took him in the 6th round of the 2017 NPB draft. He was 1-for-18 in 2018, and he played 77 games with a .239/.335/.350 batting line in 2019. Wakabayashi was 0-for-5 in the 2019 Nippon Series, and the Giants were swept by the Softbank Hawks.

The Tokyo native spent some times on the outfield after Naoki Yoshikawa shined in 2020, and he had a .247/.288/.342 batting line in 76 games. He went 2-for-5 in the 2020 Nippon Series, and the Giants were swept by the Hawks again. Wakabayashi played 96 games with a .239/.314/.362 batting line in 2021, but he suffered from right hand injury so he only got 80 at-bats in 2022. He was 2-for-16 in 2023, and the Giants traded him to the Nippon Ham Fighters for Takuya Kohri. Wakabayashi missed the entire 2024 season due to the same injury. He was 1-for-7 in 2025, and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Wakabayashi hit .228/.302/.325 with 163 hits and 12 homers in 7 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan