Ryuji Miyade

From BR Bullpen

RyujiMiyade.jpg

Ryuji Miyade (宮出 隆自)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 3", Weight 180 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Ryuji Miyade had been an outfielder and pitcher in Nippon Pro Baseball for 14 years.

Miyade was a second-round draft pick of the Yakult Swallows in the 1995 NPB draft. He made it to NPB in 1998 with the Swallows, going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 3 games. In 1999, he was 2-4 with a 5.82 ERA, striking out 43 in 43 1/3 IP. He went 3-1 with a 4.22 ERA in 22 outings in 2000. He tossed 4 1/3 shutout innings in 2001. He had gone 6-5 with a 4.73 ERA in 49 games as a pitcher with the Swallows. On the other hand, he had hits in 7 of 17 at-bats during this period. Combined with knee problems in 2001, the Swallows decided to convert Ryuji to the outfield.

The Ehime native hit .277/.315/.421 in 60 games in 2003 while splitting right field duties with veteran Atsunori Inaba. His first home run came in May off Kyuji Fujikawa. Ryuji's role fell to 35 games in 2004; he hit .235/.270/.376 as a backup in center field behind Mitsuru Manaka and Inaba. In 2005, Miyade produced at a .320/.377/.465 rate with 46 RBI in 275 AB. He hit .350 with runners in scoring position. Miyade took over the starting job in right field as Inaba left via free agency. Had he qualified, he would have been 6th in the Central League in batting average. His outfield mate Norichika Aoki won the batting title that year, while the third outfielder, Alex Ramirez, would also win a batting title in the CL.

Miyade hit .275/.335/.405 in 2006, .366 with runners in scoring position. He was moved to third base in 2007 to replace Akinori Iwamura (who had come from the same hometown), who had left for the US major leagues, but fielded only .875 there and was moved to first base. He hit .279/.316/.412. In 2008, Miyade was just 6 for 47 with two walks. He was then traded in the offseason to the Rakuten Golden Eagles for Yasuhiro Ichiba. Miyade hit .303/.339/.406 in 168 plate appearances over 82 games in 2009 as a solid bench contributor, but he slumped to .154/.250/.218 in 2010 and he was released. He returned to the Swallows, and he was 12-for-40 in 2011. Miyade hit .296/.333/.593 in 37 games in 2012, and he announced his retirement. He later coached the minors team of the Swallows from 2013 to 2014, and he became their top team batting coach from 2015 to 2019. Miyade was their bench coach from 2020 to 2021, and he returned to the minors in 2022.

Overall, Miyade hit .277/.327/.405 with 458 hits and 39 homers in 14 seasons in NPB. He was 6-5 with a 4.73 ERA as a pitcher.

Sources[edit]