Shinichi Sakurai

Shinichi Sakurai (桜井 伸一)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 171 lb.

• High School Narita High School

• Born April 29, 1965 in Inba-gun, Chiba Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shinichi Sakurai played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 9 years.

Sakurai was drafted by the Yakult Swallows in the 4th round of the 1983 NPB draft, and he spent his first two seasons in the minors. He was 4-for-12 in 1986, and he hit .258/.267/.295 in 57 games as Yakult's backup second baseman behind Keiichi Shibui in 1987. Sakurai hit .252/.285/.393 in 1988, and he got the first NPB hit in the Heisei era on April 8, 1989, against Masumi Kuwata. He struggled otherwise that year as his batting line was .155/.222/.207, and he only got 7 at-bats in the next two seasons. Sakurai hit .222/.276/.265 in 51 games in 1992, and his batting line was .255/.302/.367 in 1993. He recorded a .227/.286/.365 batting line in 78 games in 1994, and the Swallows traded him to the Seibu Lions for Taiji Kitahara in 1995. Sakurai was 4-for-27 in 1996, and he announced his retirement in 1997.

Overall, Sakurai hit .231/.274/.323 with 184 hits and 13 homers in 9 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan