Hiroyuki Saito

Hiroyuki Saito (斉藤 浩行)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 213 lb.

• High School Utsunomiya Commercial High School

• Born May 10, 1960 in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

OF/1B Hiroyuki Saito played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years. He was the most prolific home run hitter in the history of the Japanese minors.

Saito was drafted by the Hiroshima Carp in the 2nd round of the 1981 NPB draft, and he hit .212/.246/.345 in 45 games in 1982. He also crushed 15 homers with 62 RBI in the minors, and he led the Western League in RBI. Saito then crushed 17 homers and won his first minors home run title in 1983, but he was 0-for-12 for the big club. He was still elite in the minors in 1984 as he crushed 18 homers to secure his 2nd homer title, and he had a 6-for-21 record for the top team. Saito then played 30 games with a .143/.173/.286 batting line for the top team in 1985, but he only played 8 games combined for the major league. Saito still dominated the farm league as he won another home run title with 20 in 1986, and he became the first player to hit 100 career homers in the minors, reaching that figure in 1987; he blasted 17 dingers that season, and he was 2nd in batting with .323.

The Utsunomiya native recorded a .125/.176/.271 batting line in 25 games for the top team in 1988, and he was traded with Mitsuhiro Kataoka to the Chunichi Dragons for Shingo Motomura and Tetsuya Katahira. He finally got some chances in 1989, and he played 58 games with a .244/.319/.415 batting line and 6 homers. That was the only time that he had more than 100 at-bats for the top team. Saito was 2-for-16 in 1990, and he was traded to the Nippon Ham Fighters for Yoshihisa Komatsuzaki. He went 7-for-37 in 1991, but he only played 8 games in 1992 and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Saito hit .196/.255/.333 with 89 hits and 16 homers in 453 at-bats spread over 11 seasons in NPB. He crushed 161 homers in the minors, and he still held the NPB Farm Leagues career home run record as of 2025.

Sources

• Wiki Japan