Yuma Tongu

Yuma Tongu (頓宮 裕真)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 216 lb.

• School Asia University
• High School Okayama University of Science High School

• Born November 17, 1996 in Bizen, Okayama Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yuma Tongu has played in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Tongu represented Japan in the 2018 Haarlem Baseball Week, hitting .240/.269/.280 and handling 47 chances error-free; he tied Yasiel Santoya for the event lead with 7 double plays turned. The Orix Buffaloes drafted him in the 2nd round of the 2018 NPB draft. He debuted on March 29, 2019, and collected his first career hit against Naoyuki Uwasawa of the Nippon Ham Fighters. However, he mainly stayed in the NPB Farm Leagues in his first three seasons, and only played 86 games combined with the big club. Tongu was a swingman between catcher and first baseman in 2022, and he hit .226/.311/.440 with 11 homers. In the 2022 Nippon Series, he was 1-for-8 and won his first Nippon Series title as Orix beat the Yakult Swallows in 7 games.

The Okayama native broke out in 2023, and he was voted into the 2023 NPB All-Star Game as the starting first baseman. Tongu was 0-for-3 in Game 1, but collected 2 RBI with a grounder and a sacrifice fly. He only had one plate appearances in Game 2; Nik Turley walked him then he scored on Ariel Martinez's triple. Tongu ended up hitting .307/.378/.484 with 6 homers, and beat Kensuke Kondo (who was .004 behind him) to win his first Pacific League batting title. His .307 BA was the lowest ever for a PL batting title winner. He won the Best Nine award as the league's top first baseman and finished third in voting for the 2023 PL MVP, behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Kondo. He homered off Masashi Itoh, Yuki Nishi and Suguru Iwazaki in the 2023 Japan Series but Orix fell to the Hanshin Tigers in seven games. Kotaro Kurebayashi won the Fighting Spirit Award as Orix's top player in the Series. Tongu had hit .280/.308/.720, so he had done his share.

In 2024, he cratered at .197/.303/.317, a far cry from the year before. He rebounded in 2025 and made the 2025 NPB All-Star Games. In Game 1, he hit a 3-run homer off Takahiro Matsuba to take the MVP; he was 1-for-4 that game then homered off Andre Jackson in his only at-bat in Game 2. <ref> 2025 NPB All-Star Games