Shuhei Fukuda (2)

Shuhei Fukuda (福田 周平)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 152 lb.
• School Meiji University
• High School Koryo High School

• Born August 8, 1992 in Hannan, Osaka Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Infielder-turned-outfielder Shuhei Fukuda began playing in Nippon Pro Baseball in 2018 with the Orix Buffaloes. He is not to be confused with another Shuhei Fukuda, who began his career a decade earlier, and who was mainly an OF/1B; the two players' names are written with different characters in Japanese.

Fukuda was a member of the Japanese national team that took part in the 2017 Asian Championship that were held in Taiwan, during which Japan won a Gold Medal. He was 3 for 7 with a double, triple, two walks, two runs and three RBI as a part-timer. Pinch-hitting for Yuki Yamauchi in the Gold Medal Game, he hit a sacrifice fly. He had played for very prestigious institutions in both high school and college, making him a natural for the national team. The Buffaloes picked him in the 3rd round of the 2017 NPB draft; the scout was Naoki Matsumoto. He first played in NPB in 2018, batting .264/.340/.329 in 113 games with Orix, although with only 13 extra-base hits and 15 RBIs. He replaced Masahiro Nishino as the team's regular second baseman. While he played a handful of games in the minor league Western League that season and the following ones, he was mainly a regular in the Pacific League, playing second base and hitting around .270 without much power.

The Osaka native hit .250/.342/.309 with 30 steals, and he was 6th in triples (5, tied with Kensuke Kondo, Hiroaki Shimauchi and Ryo Watanabe) and 2nd in steals (tied with Sosuke Genda). Fukuda, Shunta Goto, Ryoichi Adachi and Yuya Oda became the first quartet of teammates to hit a triple in the same inning against the Hiroshima Carp on June 23. Fukuda fractured his left hand in 2020, so he only played 76 games with a .258/.366/.335 batting line. He was then moved to center field in 2021, and he played 107 games with a .275/.354/.321 batting line. Fukufa appeared in the Japan Series, in Orix's four-games-to-two loss against the Yakult Swallows. In Game 1 on November 20th, he laid down a critical sacrifice bunt as part of a three-run 9th-inning rally that gave the Buffaloes a 4-3 win.

In 2022, he struck out three times during Roki Sasaki's perfect game for the Chiba Lotte Marines on April 10th - not that he was alone as Sasaki racked up 19 Ks, and the 3-4-5 hitters for Orix (Masataka Yoshida, Rangel Ravelo and himself) all struck out all three times they came up. Sasaki extended his perfect streak with 8 more flawless innings in his next start and faced Orix again on April 24th, when Shuhei ended the amazing streak by singling on the first pitch of the game. Fukuda collected 6 triples with a .268/.328/.319 batting line that season, and he won his only NPB Gold Glove as an outfielder. He was 3rd in triples, tied with Akito Takabe and Kazunari Ishii. Fukuda hit .100/.308/.100 in the 2022 Nippon Series, and the Buffaloes beat the Yakult Swallows in 7 games. Fukuda slumped to .191/.306/.202 in 2023, so he only played 36 games with the big club. He went 4-for-5 in the 2023 Nippon Series, but the Buffaloes lost to the Hanshin Tigers in 7 games. Fukudathen had a .233/.314/.281 batting line in 69 games in 2024, and he announced his retirement after hitting .167/.224/.185 in 2025.

Overall, Fukuda hit .254/.337/.308 with 580 hits and 90 steals in 8 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan