Hideki Asai

Hideki Asai (朝井 秀樹)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 181 lb.

• High School PL Gakuen High School

• Born January 1, 1984 in Osaka, Osaka Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hideki Asai pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 8 years.

Asai was drafted by the Kintetsu Buffaloes in the first round of the 2001 NPB draft, and he only pitched 5 games combined for the big club in his first three seasons. He was assigned to the newly-founded Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2005, and he went 2-5 with a 6.00 ERA in that season. Asai had a 3.93 ERA in 9 games in 2006, and he improved to 8-8 with a 3.12 ERA in 2007. Asai completed the first shutout in Rakuten's history on August 1, against the Chiba Lotte Marines, and he was 10th in ERA that season (between Tsuyoshi Wada and Tom Davey).

The Osaka native was 9-11 with a 4.38 ERA in 2008, and he was 3rd in losses (tied with Hideaki Wakui). Asai's ERA was 6.59 in 13 games in 2009, and the Golden Eagles traded him to the Yomiuri Giants for Masafumi Togano after he allowed 4 runs in 4 1/3 innings in 2010. He was 4-1 with a 2.01 ERA in 10 games for the Giants in the rest of the 2010 season, but he stayed in the minors for the next two seasons. Asai also pitched 3 games with a 9.95 ERA for the Gigantes de Carolina after the 2011 season. Asai announced his retirement in 2012.

Overall, Asai was 25-33 with a 4.09 ERA, struck out 378 and pitched 492 2/3 innings in 8 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan