Yoshitomo Tsutsugo




Yoshitomo "Yoshi" Tsutsugo is a Japanese professional baseball left fielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. He previously played for the Yokohama BayStars/Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball, where he was the youngest player in BayStars franchise history to reach 100, 150, and 200 home runs. On July 22, 2016 Tsutsugo became the first player in Nippon Professional Baseball history to have three straight multiple home run games, and in the same month he also became the first to have six multiple home run games in a month.

Professional career

Yokohama BayStars/ Yokohama DeNA BayStars (2010–2019)

Tsutsugo made his rookie debut at age 18 for the Yokohama BayStars and played 3 games in 2010. He played 40 games in 2011, 108 games in 2012 and 23 games in 2013. His low start were due to his injuries and lack of experience adjusting to using wooden bats in professional baseball. He became a regular on the team in the 2014 season and played in 114 games. He hit 22 home runs, drove in 77 RBI, and hit.300 with an OBP of.373. In 2015, he was selected to his first NPB All-Star Game. He hit 24 home runs, drove in 95 runs, and hit.309 with an OBP of.395.
In 2016, he was selected to his second consecutive NPB All-Star Game and was the :ja:2016年のオールスターゲーム |All-Star Game MVP. He led with Central League in home runs and RBI. He also had career highs in batting average and OBP. Tsutsugo was selected to the next three NPB All-Star Games, winning the Kantosho or "Fighting Spirit Award" in all three appearances. In total, Tsutsugo appeared in five NPB All-Star Games from 2015 to 2019.
In January 2019, Tsutsugo gave a speech at the Foreign correspondents club of Japan where he criticized the harsh regimentation and focus on tournaments in youth baseball in Japan. In addition he stated that he would like to play in Major League Baseball in the future. After the 2019 season, on November 15, 2019, BayStars announced it was allowing Tsutsugo to enter the posting system to play in Major League Baseball.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 16, 2019, Tsutsugo signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. On March 25, 2020, he backed Japan due to COVID-19 pandemic.
On July 24, 2020, Tsutsugo was the starting third basemen, making his MLB debut on Opening Day against the Toronto Blue Jays and hit a 1st MLB hit as a 1st MLB homerun against Hyun-jin Ryu.

International career

Tsutsugo played for Japan national baseball team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Tsutsugoh was named the Pool B Most Valuable Player after batting.364.
On August 20, 2018, he was selected for the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series, but on October 26, 2018, he canceled his participation for Samurai Japan.

Playing style

Tsutsugo was a switch hitter throughout his amateur school career until Yokohama High School, where he became a left-handed hitter due to a discovery of a herniated disc during medical examination.