Seiya Suzuki

Seiya signed a five-year contract with the Cubs in March of 2022 after spending nine seasons with the Hiroshima Carp of the Japan Central League...Appeared in 902 games for Hiroshima, batting a combined .315 (937-for-2,976) with 182 doubles, 16 triples, 182 home runs, 562 RBI, 82 stolen bases and a .984 OPS...Is a five-time Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star, a five-time Central League Gold Glove Award winner and a six-time Best-Nine Award recipient...Won two Central League batting titles, leading the league in 2019 (.335) and 2021 (.317)...Since 2016, has recorded six-straight seasons with at least 25 doubles, 25 home runs and a .300 batting average...Has logged an on-base percentage over .400 in five of those seasons, including a league-leading .453 in 2019 and .433 in 2021...Played in five games during the 2020 Summer Olympics for Team Japan, leading the club to a gold medal...Hit one solo home run during the competition and recorded all three of his hits vs. Team USA...Also participated internationally for Team Japan in the 2019 WSBC Premier 12 and the 2014 U21 Baseball World Cup...Was named the MVP of the 2019 WSBC Premier 12 after he hit .444 (12-for-27) with three home runs and 13 RBI in eight games...Was originally drafted by Hiroshima in the second round of the 2012 NPB Draft...Was selected as an infielder, appearing at third base and shortstop before transitioning to outfield full-time in 2015.
2021
Seiya won his second career Central League batting title in 2021 with a .317 average (138-for-435)...Was named an NPB All-Star for the fifth-straight season, Gold Glove Award winner for the fifth time and Best Nine Award winner for the sixth consecutive season...Hit a career high 38 home runs and drew 87 walks in 132 games played, contributing to a league-leading .433 OBP 1.073 OPS ... the 1.073 OPS was also a career high...Led Team Japan to a gold medal in the 2020-21 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, recording three hits and a home run during the competition.

2020
In 2020, recorded his fifth consecutive season with at least 25 doubles, 25 home runs and a .300 average...Led Hiroshima in doubles (26), home runs (25), RBI (75), on-base percentage (.409) and slugging (.544), while his .300 average was the second-highest on the team.

2019
Notched a career-high 25 stolen bases and 103 walks in 2019, leading Hiroshima to a fourth place finish in the Japan Central League...Won his first career batting title, finishing with a career-high .335 average (167-for-499) with 31 doubles, 28 home runs, 87 RBI, 103 walks, a .453 OBP and a 1.018 OPS...Was named to his fourth career NPB All-Star team, receiving the most votes among all Central League players...On July 13, won the NPB Home Run Derby ... he was awarded the Nissan Note Power Award, given to the player with the fastest average hitting speed...Played for Team Japan in the WSBC Premier 12 following the season and was named tournament MVP...Hit .444 (12-for-27) with three home runs and 13 RBI in eight games.

2018
In 2018, was the only player in the Japan Central League with 30-plus doubles, 30-plus home runs and 90-plus RBI...Notched his first career 30-homer season ... his 30 home runs were the second-most on the team...Was named to his third consecutive NPB All-Star team and hit his first career All-Star Game home run off current Toronto Blue Jays pitcher, Yusei Kikuchi...He finished the season batting .320 (135-for-422) with 32 doubles, two triples, 30 home runs, 94 RBI and 88 walks, leading Hiroshima to their third consecutive Central League pennant...While Hiroshima lost to the Fukuoka Sotbank Hawks in the Japan Series, he hit .455 (10-for-22) with three home runs and six RBI during the series.

2017
Was limited to 115 games in 2017 after he left the game on Aug. 23 due to an ankle injury and subsequent surgery...Led the Central League with a .936 OPS and finished second on the team in home runs (26) and RBI (90)...Made his second career All-Star appearance after he received 448,715 votes, the most among Central League outfielders...Received his second consecutive Gold Glove and Best Nine Award.

2016
In 2016, led Hiroshima in average (.335), home runs (29) and OPS (1.016), guiding the club to their first Central League pennant since 1991...Missed the beginning of the season due to a hamstring injury suffered during a practice game...Made his first career NPB All-Star appearance...Received his first career Gold Glove and Best Nine Award following the season.

2015
Was converted from an infielder to an outfielder prior to the 2015 season, playing in 97 games with Hiroshima...Batted .275 (58-for-211) with six doubles, three triples, five home runs and 25 RBI.

2014
Split the 2014 season between Hiroshima and their farm club ... batted .344 (22-for-64) in 36 games for the Carp...Played in 50 games in Hiroshima's farm system and hit .284 (52-for-183) with 10 doubles, one triple, four home runs and 19 RBI.

2013
Made his professional debut in 2013, appearing in 90 games with Hiroshima's farm system, batting .281 (94-for-335) with 15 doubles, four triples, two home runs and 38 RBI...Made his NPB debut on Sept. 14, appearing in 11 games with Hiroshima to finish the season.

*Courtesy ChicagoSportsHQ.com