Tokyo Yakult Swallows outfielder Norichika Aoki speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on Friday.
13:32 JST, September 13, 2024
Tokyo Yakult Swallows outfielder Norichika Aoki, who has 2,723 total hits in Japan and the Major League, ranking fifth on the all-time list for Japanese players, will retire after the current season, the Central League team announced Friday.
The 42-year-old Aoki, playing in his 21st season, started his career with a bang when he collected 202 hits in 2005 and was named CL rookie of the year. He won the batting title three times, while also leading the league in hits and on-base percentage twice and in stolen bases once.
The Miyazaki Prefecture native pitched for local Hyuga High School before switching to outfield at Waseda University. He was selected in the fourth round by the Swallows in the 2004 draft.
In 2012, he made the move to the Pacific via the posting system, joining the Milwaukee Brewers. He played six seasons in the majors with seven teams, most recently the New York Mets, before returning to the Swallows in 2018.
Through Thursday, he has appeared in 1,713 games in Japan, posting a career average of .313 with 1,949 hits, 145 home runs and 667 runs batted in. In 759 major league games, he has hit .285 with 774 hits, 33 home runs and 219 RBIs.
This season, Aoki, the oldest outfielder in Japanese professional baseball, played in only 61 games. He had a .192 batting average, no home runs and nine RBIs.
