| Ryūhei Obata | |
|---|---|
 Obata playing for the Tigers | |
| Hanshin Tigers – No. 38 | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: September 21, 2000 Ōita City, Ōita Prefecture | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
| debut | |
| August 22, 2020, for the Hanshin Tigers | |
| Career statistics (through April 1, 2022) | |
| Batting average | .229 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 8 |
| Teams | |
| |
Ryūhei Obata (小幡 竜平, Obata,Ryūhei, born September 21, 2000 in Ōita City, Ōita Prefecture, Japan) is a professional Japanese baseball infielder for the Hanshin Tigers.
Early Baseball Career[edit]
A native of Oita, Ryūhei started as a softball pitcher and shortstop when he was in 3rd grade,[1] and went on to play baseball for the Akeno Boys of Akeno Junior High.[2]
He attended Nobeoka Gakuen High School in the neighboring prefecture Miyazaki, and secured an infielder position in the school's baseball team. In his 2nd year, he batted clean up during the prefectural and Kyushu regional tournaments, and recorded 17 hits and 9 RBIs in 9 games.[3] In his senior year, he got to participate in the 2018 Spring Koshien but lost in the 1st round.[4] Despite his team not making it into the Summer Koshien tournaments that year, he was chosen to join the national team in the 2018 BFA U18 Baseball Championships where Japan placed 3rd.[1]
Hanshin Tigers[edit]
He was chosen as the Hanshin Tigers' 2nd round pick in the 2018 annual professional baseball draft. He signed a 60 million yen contract with the Tigers for a starting annual salary of 7.2 million yen, and was assigned jersey number 38.[5]
2019
He spent the entire season playing in Western League games (minors) as a shortstop, and recorded a 0.225 batting average in 99 games, 9 stolen bases and 14 RBIs including 1 home run. He also participated in the Fresh All-Star inter-league games.[6]
External links[edit]
- Nippon Professional Baseball Stats
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
References[edit]
- ^ a b "阪神2位小幡は走攻守そろった逸材「将来1番遊撃」". Nikkan Sports. 2018-10-26.
- ^ "根尾＆小園に負けん!阪神ドラフト2位・小幡竜平「鳥谷選手のようになりたい」／ドラフト". Sankei Sports. 2018-10-26.
- ^ "ドラフト会議 県勢の結果]". Oita Press. 2018-10-26.
- ^ "延岡学園"小幡のおにいさん"初回にタイムリーも苦杯「守備も打撃も課題」夏へ前向く". Sports Nippon. 2018-03-27.
- ^ "阪神2位小幡が仮契約「ライバルに」根尾らに対抗心]". Nikkan Sports. 2018-11-12.
- ^ "2019年度 ウエスタン・リーグ個人打撃成績（規定打席以上）". NPB official website. 2019-10-20.