Kosuke Fukudome – it.mycompwiki.com

Japanese baseball player

Kosuke Fukudome [koːske ɸɯkɯdome] (Fukudome Kosuke, Fukudome Kōsukeborn April 26, 1977) is a Japanese professional baseball athlete of the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Previously he played in Major League Baseball from 2008 to 2012, mainly with the Chicago Cubs.

Prior to joining MLB, Fukudome played nine seasons for Nippon Professional Baseball’s Chunichi Dragons. He was also a member of the Japanese national baseball team, winning a silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and finishing first in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and 2009 World Baseball Classic. the Central League MVP in 2006.

At the beginning of his career

Fukudome entered PL Gakuen High School and was quickly targeted by professional scouts as a potential first-round draft pick. Seven teams picked Fukudome in the first round of the 1995 draft, the Kintetsu Buffaloes won the right to negotiate with Fukudome by winning the lottery. However, Fukudome had already decided that he would not turn pro unless he could play for the Chunichi Dragons or the Yomiuri Giants, and he joined Nihon Seimei, whose baseball team belonged to the industrial championships. In 1996, at the age of 19, he became the youngest player ever chosen for an Olympic baseball team and his team won a silver medal at the Atlanta Olympics.

Professional career

Draghi Chunichi

The Chunichi dragons drafted Fukudome in the 1998 NPB draft [jp] in the first round as shortstop. Fukudome had grown up as a fan of Dragon infelder Kazuyoshi Tatsunami, and had received an autograph from Tatsunami, who would be his teammate when he joined the Dragons.

Manager Senichi Hoshino used Fukudome in 132 games in his rookie year, and Fukudome hit .284 with 16 home runs and contributed to his team’s championship. However, he also led the league in strikeouts. While Fukudome was fast and had a strong throwing arm, he simply couldn’t get his balls down to shortstop. He made several mistakes that led to his team’s defeat in the Japan Series, and was frequently knocked out of games in subsequent innings.

He was converted to third baseman in his second year, but his lineup improved little and his strokes decreased as well. The following year, he was moved to the outfield. Even though he played poorly at first, he gradually improved to become the right defender every day. His natural speed and strong arm of him have since led to his win of four Golden Glove awards on the outfield.

His shots have also improved dramatically. He stopped Hideki Matsui in his run for the triple crown in 2002, leading the league in batting average (.343). He hit .313 with 34 homers the following year, establishing himself as one of the best hitters in the league.

In 2004, he joined the Japanese Olympic baseball team for the second time, winning a bronze medal at the Athens Olympics. He was chosen for the 2006 World Baseball Classic team, and hit a two-run home run against Byung-hyun Kim in the semi-finals against Korea. He struck again in the final for a brace against Cuba.

In 2006, he hit .351 with 31 home runs and 104 RBI, winning the Central League MVP award.

When asked if he had any interest in the Major Leagues on a TV show in the 2006 off-season, Fukudome replied, “It would be a lie to say I didn’t. Playing in the World Baseball Classic increased my desire to play. in. the majors. “^{[citazione necessaria]}

Fukudome became a free agent in November 2007.

Chicago Cubs

On December 11, 2007, the Chicago Cubs signed Fukudome for a $ 48 million four-year deal. Fukudome said in an interview that one of the main reasons he chose the Chicago Cubs over the other three teams trying to put him on their roster was because he wanted to be the first Japanese player to play for the team. He also thought Chicago had a large Japanese community and was a great place to raise his children.

Fukudome made his Major League debut on March 31, 2008, against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. He went 3 for 3 with a walk, including a brace on his first Major League pitch, and a three-run draw home run on the closest Éric Gagné of Brewers in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Brewers went on to win 4–3 extra innings.

In April 2008, a souvenir kiosk selling unlicensed Cub clothing sold a Cub bear cartoon t-shirt wearing oversized Harry Caray-style glasses surrounded by the phrase “Horry Kow” (an English play about hit “Holy Cow!” by Caray) in Asian cartoon script below. Mark Kolbusz, the operator of the souvenir stand, said the shirt was his best seller so far that season and that 1 in 10 customers complained that it was insulting. After being shown the shirt, Fukudome said through his interpreter: “I don’t know what the creator of the shirt meant, but they should fix things. Maybe the creator made it because he thought it was funny, or maybe it is. managed to condescend the race. I don’t know. ” After a story about the shirt appeared in the Chicago Sun-Timesthe Cubs ordered Kolbusz to remove his shirt from the stand and stop production.

After a quick start, Fukudome’s 2008 MLB performance faded. After a batting average of .327 in April, each subsequent month reflected less success as Fukudome hit .293 in May, .264 in June, .236 in July, .193 in August and .178 in September, followed by .100 in September. post-season. He finished the year with an average of .257 and a hit rate of .370. He hit .251 against right-handers and .137 when there were 2 knockouts and runners in scoring position. Fukudome’s slide was detailed in a New York Times article.

However, on July 7, 2008, Fukudome was voted the starter in the 2008 MLB All-Star Game. Cubs coach Lou Piniella defended him from criticism and said: “[Fukudome] he does a great job in the right field we hate taking him out of the lineup, “and further said the team will continue to give him more opportunities.

After the Game 2 defeat to the Dodgers in the NLDS, a reporter asked Piniella, enraged by the loss, to start Fukudome. Piniella replied: “I will interpret [Mike] Fontenot or Reed Johnson or somebody else, and that’s the end of that story. The kid is struggling and it doesn’t make sense to send him out there anymore. ”Fukudome only managed a single in 10 at-bats in the postseason.

In 2009, the Cubs moved Fukudome to midfield after signing right fielder Milton Bradley. In July, Fukudome became the Cubs’ main hitter. He replaced Alfonso Soriano, who had misbehaved in May and June. He had the lowest distance factor of all major league center backs (2.29). Fukudome walked 93 times, scored 38 doubles and stole six bases. The .375 percent based on him was second on the team.

During his time in Chicago, Fukudome quickly became popular with supporters and became a fan favorite. His number 1 shirt was one of the league’s best sellers during his tenure with the Cubs.

Cleveland Indians

On July 28, 2011, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for 2 minor league prospects. In 59 games in Cleveland, he only scored .249. On August 12, right fielder Shin-Soo Choo was activated from the 15-day disabled list, moving Fukudome to center field. But on August 27, Choo suffered another injury that would put him back on the 15-day disabled list on September 1, and that moved Fukudome back to the right.

Chicago White Sox

Fukudome signed a $ 1 million contract with the Chicago White Sox on February 14, 2012. On June 22, Fukudome was designated for award after hitting 0.171, 0 home runs and 4 RBIs in 24 games played and 41 attacks. bats. Fukudome was released on June 26.

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees signed Fukudome to a minor league contract on July 13, 2012. Fukudome was released by the Yankees on September 3, 2012 after reaching 0.264 in 43 games for New York’s AAA Scranton / Wilkes-Barre team.

Hanshin Tigers

After the 2012 MLB season, Fukodome returns to NPB and signs with the Hanshin Tigers. After playing just 63 games in 2013 and 104 in 2014 with limited offensive production, Fukudome experienced a resurgence in 2015 at the age of 38. Playing all but three of the season’s 143 games, he hit .281 with 20 home runs, 24 doubles and 76 RBI. The home run and RBI total were Fukudome’s highest since his penultimate year with the Central League’s Chunichi Dragons in 2006.

At the end of the 2015 season, Fukudome was nominated for the fourth time in an NPB Best Nine lineup and was awarded the fifth Golden Glove of his career as an outfielder. The nine years between his last Golden Glove and 2015 are a Central League record. He will return to the Tigers outfield in 2016 for his 18th professional season at the age of 39.

On July 30, 2016, Fukudome became the 4th player in NPB history to record the most hits in the cycle, helping lead the Tigers to an 8–3 victory over his former team, the Chunichi Dragons.

On 2 December 2020 he becomes a free agent.

Second period with the Dragons

On December 18, 2020, Fukudome signed a contract to return to the Dragons and held a press conference.

World Baseball Classic

Fukudome was part of the 2006 Japanese Baseball World Champion Teams and the 2009 Baseball Classic.

References

External Link