Hayata Ito

Hayata Ito (伊藤 隼太)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 185 lb.

• School Keio University
• High School Chukyo University Senior High School

• Born May 8, 1989 in Seto, Aichi Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Hayata Ito played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 7 years

Ito represented Japan in the 2010 World University Championship, homering in their first two games as well as in their Bronze Medal Game win. He was a corner outfielder for the Japanese national team in the 2010 Asian Games, going 4 for 12 with 2 walks, a double, triple, 5 runs and 6 RBI. He had 3 run and 3 RBI in a rout of Mongolia. In the semifinal loss to Taiwan, he was 1 for 2 as the starting left fielder before being replaced by Hidenori Watanabe. In the Bronze Medal game win over host China, he hit 6th and played left field. He was 0 for 3 with a walk, run and RBI. In the 2010 World University Championship, he starred for Japan, hitting .261/.333/.652 with a team-high 3 home runs and 10 RBI. In the semifinal, he was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts against Sonny Gray and a reliever in a loss to the US. In the Bronze Medal Game 9-0 win over South Korea, he was 1 for 4 with a walk and 2-run homer (off Sung-bum Na in the first). For the event, he was 5th in RBI (behind Yoennis Céspedes, Alfredo Despaigne, José Dariel Abreu and Chieh-Pei Huang) and 4th in home runs (one shy of the 3 leading Cubans, Abreu, Despaigne and Céspedes). He did not make the All-Tournament outfield as Mikie Mahtook, Céspedes and Shota Ishimine were picked.

The Aichi native was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in the first round of the 2011 NPB draft, and he signed for a 100 million yen bonus, 15 million yen contract and 50 million yen worth of incentives. He was the Tigers' Opening Day right fielder and hit 7th. He struck out twice against Kentaro Takasaki before Shunsuke Fujikawa pinch-hit for him. He crushed his first career home run against Kosuke Matsui of the Yakult Swallows on September 27. He was the first Hanshin rookie whose first homer was a grand slam since Jungo Igaue in 1936. Ito ended up hitting .148/.179/.222 in 2012, and he struggled again in 2013 as his batting line was .145/.232/.210 in 30 games. Ito improved to .294/.331/.412 in 2014, and he went 0-for-2 in the 2014 Nippon Series. The Softbank Hawks beat the Tigers in 5 games.

Ito crushed 2 homers with a .252/.302/.348 batting line in 2015, and he hit .245/.259/.340 in 2016. Ito played 73 games with 2 homers and a .261/.301/.377 batting line in 2017 (with 73 plate appearances, the outfielder was used almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter), and he batted .247/.335/.340 in 2018. However, he was placed in the minors for the next two seasons, and the Tigers released him. Ito next played for the independent Ehime Mandarin Pirates, and he announced his retirement in 2022.

Overall, Ito hit .240/.295/.336 with 154 hits and 10 homers in 7 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Old 2010 World University Championship site
• Wiki Japan
• Yakyubaka