Shuhei Fukuda (1)

Shuhei Fukuda (福田 秀平)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 163 lb.
• High School Tama University Hijirigaoka High School

• Born February 10, 1989 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Japan

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Biographical Information

OF/IF Shuhei Fukuda played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 13 years. He is one of two NPB players with the same name; the second Shuhei Fukuda, an infielder, began playing in NPB in 2018. Their names are written differently in Japanese.

Fukuda was a competitive swimmer as a youth before turning to baseball full-time. He was drafted by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the first round of the 2006 NPB draft, and he was the first player born in Heisei era in NPB history. Fukuda stayed in the ni-gun team in the Western League in his first three seasons, and he reached the top level for the first time in 2010. He hit .261/.320/.348 in 44 games for Fukuoka in the Pacific League, and he also played 22 games with a .276/.315/.460 batting line for the Brisbane Bandits in the 2010-2011 ABL. Fukuda secured an outfield starting spot in the second half of the 2011 season, and he collected 22 steals with a .252/.281/.326 batting line that season. He tied Yasuyuki Kataoka for 9th in steals in the league. He was 0-for-6 in the 2011 Nippon Series, and the Hawks beat the Chunichi Dragons in 7 games. He was also the first player born in the Heisei era to play in a Nippon Series.

The Yokohama native suffered from a left hip injury in 2012, and he slumped to .189/.208/.208 in 63 games. Fukuda struggled again as his batting line was .120/.154/.240 in 2013, and he also tied Yoshinori Hirose's NPB record as he stole 31 consecutive bases. Fukuda then played 22 games with a .238/.326/.345 batting line for the Gigantes de Carolina in winter. He missed the entire 2014 season due to injuries, then he played 84 games with a .232/.283/.339 batting line in 2015. Fukuda hit .417/.533/.417 in the 2015 Nippon Series, and the Hawks beat the Yakult Swallows in 5 games.

Fukuda crushed 3 homers with a .231/.298/.335 batting line in 2016, and he played 104 games with a .183/.227/.308 batting line as Softbank's main 4th outfielder in 2017; he only got 104 at-bats. Fukuda then played a career-high 110 games with a .263/.298/.492 batting line in 2018. In Game 1 of the 2018 Nippon Series against the Hiroshima Carp on October 27th, he had a chance to break a 2-2 tie when he came up as a pinch-hitter in the 11th inning with the bases loaded, but he flew out to end the inning and the game ended without a winner after one more inning of play. That was his only at-bat in the entire series, and the Hawks beat the Hiroshima Carp in 6 games.

The utility man crushed 9 homers with a .259/.302/.470 batting line in 2019, and he was a regular in a four-game sweep against the Yomiuri Giants in the 2019 Nippon Series. Fukuda hit a key two-run home run off Kyosuke Takagi in a 6-3 win in Game 2 on October 20th, and he was 2-for-7 in the entire series. His numerous appearances in the Japan Series explain why he is a much bigger name in Japan than one would expect for a player whose on-field accomplishments are somewhat modest. He announced that he would become a free-agent after that season.

The Chiba Lotte Marines signed him, and Fukuda played 62 games with a .216/.276/.353 batting line in 2020. He missed most of the season due to Takahiro Fujioka's hit-by-pitch. He only got 12 at-bats in 2021, and he was 7-for-41 in 2022. Fukuda then spent most of the 2023 season in the minors, and the Marines released him. He then signed with the Kufu HAYATE Ventures Shizuoka in 2024, but he hit .173/.281/.212 there and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Fukuda hit .229/.278/.352 with 309 hits and 29 homers in 13 seasons in NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan