Yuki Yanagita | |||
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Yanagita with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
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Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – No. 9 | |||
Outfielder | |||
Born: | October 9, 1988|||
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debut | |||
May 8, 2011, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | |||
Teams | |||
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Career highlights and awards | |||
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Yuki Yanagita (柳田 悠岐 Yanagita Yuki?, born October 9, 1988 in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan) is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays outfielder for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Yanagita was a member of the 2014 and 2015 Japan Series-winning Hawks teams.
In 2015, Yanagita won the Pacific League MVP award after ranking at or near the top of the league in several offensive categories. Yanagita led both leagues with a .363 batting average and led the Pacific League in runs (110), total bases (317), slugging percentage (.631), on base percentage (.469), and walks (88). He ranked second in hits (182) and stolen bases (32) and third in home runs (34, tied) and RBI (99). With the exception of stolen bases, all of these stats were career highs, and Yanagita became the just the 10th player in either league to join the "Triple 3" club (.300 average, 30 home runs, 30 stolen bases).
After the season, Yanagita underwent a right elbow surgery and is expected to recover in time for the 2016 season.