Ryota Wakiya

Ryota Wakiya (脇谷 亮太)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 130 lb.

• School Nippon Bunri University
• High School Yanagigaura High School

• Born November 4, 1981 in Oita, Oita Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Ryota Wakiya played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years.

Wakiya was drafted out of the NTT West Japan of the industrial leagues by the Yomiuri Giants in the 5th round of the 2005 NPB draft. In 2006, he hit .270/.302/.335 in 60 games, splitting second base duties with three veterans in the form of Makoto Kosaka, Toshihisa Nishi and Takuya Kimura. In 2007, Wakiya split time with Kimura and Luis A. Gonzalez and also backed up at third base and shortstop. He hit .282/.314/.390 with 8 steals in 9 tries in 91 games that season. In 2008, the left-handed hitter posted a batting line of .208/.252/.308 in 56 games, struggling as Kimura's back-up. He had a key hit in Game Five of the 2008 Japan Series, a tie-breaking two-run triple off of Hideaki Wakui in the 7th inning.

The Oita native hit .268/.307/.342 in 2009, and he shined in the Climax Series. He hit a game-winning 2-run double against Takuya Asao in Game 2 of the 2009 CLCS final stage, and he was named the series MVP. Wakiya was 0-for-3 in the 2009 Nippon Series, and the Giants beat the Nippon Ham Fighters in 5 games. He became the starting second baseman for the Giants in 2010, and he hit .273/.333/.396 with a league-leading 8 triples. However, he slumped to .175/.215/.221 in 2011, and he missed the entire 2012 season because he underwent Tommy John surgery.

Wakiya had a .244/.306/.285 batting line in 49 games in 2013, and the Seibu Lions selected him as the compensation after they lost free agent Yasuyuki Kataoka. He hit .263/.318/.346 with 2 homers in 2014, and he had a solid .294/.367/.396 batting line in 118 games in 2015. Wakiya then announced that he would became a free agent after that season, and he signed a 1-year 2.4 million yen contract with the Giants. He struggled in 2016 as his batting line was .157/.202/.231, and he batted .250/.284/.250 in 52 games in 2017. He was placed in the minors for the entire 2018 season, and he announced his retirement. Wakiya then became a scout for Yomiuri from 2019 to 2022, and he was named their minor league fielding coach in 2023. As a Giants scout, he signed Masaya Hagio, Ryuta Heinai, Makoto Kyomoto and Chiharu Tanaka.

Overall, Wakiya hit .255/.305/.340 with 521 hits and 18 homers in 11 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• Japanesebaseball.com
• Japan Baseball Daily