Kenta Kurihara
Encyclopedia
is a first baseman
for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
.
The Carp's current cleanup hitter
, Kurihara has blossomed into one of the most feared power threats in the Central League
. He played in the 2009 World Baseball Classic
as an emergency replacement for Shuichi Murata
, who suffered an injury in the second round
of the tournament.
, a small city in northern Yamagata Prefecture
. He began playing baseball as a third grade
r, quickly working his way into his Little League team's cleanup spot and becoming their ace pitcher
as well. He remained a pitcher throughout junior high
but was also noted for winning the high jump
, 100-meter dash
and shot put
in the citywide track and field event.
Kurihara went on to Nihon University Yamagata Senior High School, a private affiliate school
of Nihon University
. Though the school's then-baseball coach Yoshiya Shibuya had scouted
him since Kurihara's junior high days and planned to continue using him as a pitcher, Shibuya was astonished by the bat speed as well as bat control with which Kurihara effortlessly drove ball after ball over the fence in batting practice. Kurihara was converted to the infield
and made the team's No. 5 hitter in the summer of his first year (the equivalent of tenth grade
in the United States) and had become the cleanup hitter by the fall.
Kurihara hit over .700 with two home run
s in the Tohoku Regional
Tournament
held in the spring of 1998, his junior year
, and led his team to a berth in the 80th National High School Baseball Championship
that summer, but they lost to Seiryo High School, the Ishikawa
champions, 10-1 in the first round (Kurihara went 1-for-4 with the team's lone RBI
).
Though that appearance ended up being his first and only on the national stage
, Kurihara was a highly coveted position player
with plus-power and speed by his senior year
(1999) and was being scouted by 11 different NPB teams. He hit 39 home runs for his high school career and lifted a maximum of 120 kg (264.6 lb) on the bench press
, squatted
a maximum of 330 kg (727.5 lb) and ran the 50- and 100-meter]] sprints
in 6.0 and 11.7 seconds, respectively. Despite rumors that the Yakult Swallows
were looking to take him in the upper rounds, Kurihara was picked in the third round of the 1999 NPB amateur draft
by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
, becoming the only active player from Yamagata Prefecture in all of Japanese professional baseball (he remained so until the end of the 2002 season
).
with the Carp's nigun team (Japanese for "minor league
" or "farm team
"), often battling with various injuries. He managed to hit .306 in his second season (2001) in the Western League
.
(the Japanese equivalent of the All-Star Futures Game
) that summer, starting in the cleanup spot for the Western League (minors) team in the game held on July 11 (though he went 0-for-4 with two strikeout
s). He was called up to the ichigun ("major league
") team in late August, making his professional debut as a pinch hitter
in a game against the Chunichi Dragons
on August 31 (he grounded out to short
against right-hander Daisuke Yamai
). He made his first start on September 4 against the Hanshin Tigers
as the team's No. 7 hitter and third baseman
and hitting a home run off Tigers right-hander (and current closer
) Kyuji Fujikawa
for the first hit
of his career the following day (September 5).
Kurihara hit .305 with six home runs and 50 RBI in the Western League that season, leading the league in RBI and finishing third in batting average
among all qualifying players. He was chosen to play in the 14th Asian Games
held in Busan
as a member of the Japanese national team
along with other industrial league and minor league players (one from each of the twelve NPB teams) after the regular season.
, going back and forth between the majors and minors. He hit .315 with 13 home runs and 53 RBI in the Western League, leading the league in homers and RBI and finishing second in batting average (marking the third straight year
he had hit over .300). He also improved his slugging percentage from .446 to .586 and struck out just 24 times. However, he played in just 26 games at the ichigun level, hitting .276 (but with a meager .286 on-base percentage) with three homers and six RBI. He recorded his first career stolen base
on April 16 against the Yomiuri Giants
.
, who was both older and more experienced at the time) and hitting .267 with 11 homers and 32 RBI in 90 total games.
On October 2, with the Carp finding themselves tied in the ninth inning with two outs
and runners on second
and third in a close game against the Tigers, Kurihara swung and missed with two strikes but failed to realize that catcher
Akihiro Yano
had failed to catch the pitch
. Though outfielder
Shigenobu Shima came racing home to score the game-winning run
, Kurihara failed to run to first, resulting in his being tagged out and costing his team a win (the game ended a 4-4 tie in extra innings as per NPB regulations). Though the Carp were already far out of title contention at the time, the baserunning blunder drew the ire of then-manager
Koji Yamamoto
, who removed Kurihara from the active roster and sent him down to the minors, declining to use him at all for the remaining eight games of the season despite opting to rest many of his starters and use other young players in place of them.
Kurihara married a batgirl
who worked at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, the Carp's home ballpark
, at the end of the year
.
, Kurihara missed the opener of the 2005 season due to injuries. While he did not play at the ichigun level until June 21 in a game against the Swallows and did not see his first start until June 28 against the Tigers, he hit .275 with five home runs and 18 RBI and slugged .551 in a 20-game rehab
stint in the minors, leading then-nigun team manager Tomio Kinoshita to say that it would be last time Kurihara would ever play at Yū
Baseball Ground, the home of the Carp's farm team. Kurihara replaced teammate Kenjiro Nomura
at first base after the veteran got his 2000th career hit and went on to play in 77 games, making 66 starts and hitting .323 with 15 homers and 43 RBI. He hit .352 with 10 homers and 21 RBI in the month of August alone and his .366 on-base and .563 slugging percentage were all career highs, as were his numbers in all three Triple Crown
categories.
Kurihara had his uniform number
changed from 50 to 5 during the off-season. His wife gave birth to their first child (a daughter) that July and held their wedding reception in December.
to prepare for the coming 2006 season, reducing his body fat percentage
from 10 to 9 percent and bulking up until he weighed 100 kg (220.5 lb). He saw his first start in the cleanup spot on May 24 in an interleague game against the Orix Buffaloes
(though he went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts and a walk
) and hit .379 with five home runs and 23 RBI that month. He got hot in July as well, hitting .305 with seven homers and 19 RBI and winning the first Central League monthly Most Valuable Player
award of his career.
Kurihara experienced pain
in his lower back
in August and was found to have a spinal disc hernia
upon further diagnosis, forcing him to undergo surgery on August 23 and miss the remainder of the season. (Ironically, right-hander and then-staff ace Hiroki Kuroda
, who was the co-winner of the monthly MVP award along with Kurihara, also suffered an injury that same month and ended up missing much of the season.) Regardless, Kurihara played in 109 games until his season-ending injury, hitting .295 with 20 homers and 69 RBI.
in Arizona for the second straight year alongside teammates Shima and Kei Yoshida, bringing his body fat percentage back down to 9 percent (from its peak of 13 percent while he was out due to injury) and his weight to 92 kg (202.8 lb). He played in all 144 games for the first time in his career despite bone spurs in his elbow and finished the 2007 season with a .310 batting average (fifth in the league), 25 home runs and 92 RBI. He was the only right-handed hitter in the league that finished with a slugging average of over .500 and less than 100 strikeouts that year. He was also equally effective against left-handed and right-handed pitchers, hitting .307 with 10 homers and a .564 slugging percentage against lefties and .311 with 15 homers and a .490 slugging percentage against righties. In particular, his two-run home run off Tigers closer Kyuji Fujikawa (who was then on pace to set an NPB record for most saves in a single season) on September 13 was the first home run that Fujikawa had allowed all season.
to the Tigers, Kurihara was officially appointed the team's cleanup hitter for the 2008 season. While he struggled in the opening weeks of the season, hitting .290 but with just two home runs and six RBI for the month of April, he hit .347 with three homers and 17 RBI (slugging .505) in 24 games in interleague play and .408 with six homers and 18 RBI in the month of July. He started all 144 games in the cleanup spot, hitting .332 with 23 homers and 103 RBI and keeping the Carp in playoff contention for much of the season. He marked career highs in batting average (third in the league), hits (185; second), RBI (fourth) and had the third-most plate appearances (616) of any player in the league. His 68 strikeouts were the fewest in any season in which he had played more than 100 games thus far and the second-fewest of any player in the league who had hit more than 20 homers (Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe
hit 24 homers and struck out a mere 66 times).
Following the regular season, Kurihara and Arai (now with the Tigers) were both presented the Central League Golden Glove award at first base, marking the first time two players were chosen at the same position since then-Giants right-hander Masumi Kuwata
and then-Dragons left-hander Shinji Imanaka won the award as pitchers in 1993. He underwent endoscopic
surgery
to remove articular cartilage
fragments (the largest some 1.5 cm (0.590551181102362 in) in diameter
) in his elbow during the off-season.
as a member of the Japanese national team (consisting entirely of industrial league and minor league players). He hit a home run against China
in the preliminary round
on October 5 as the starting first baseman and No. 6 hitter and contributed to Japan's bronze medal finish.
held in Miyazaki
in mid-February, he was ultimately cut from the final 28-man team, perhaps partly due to the condition of his elbow (which he had had surgery on during the off-season). However, he was named one of the team's primary backup players and got his chance when Yokohama BayStars
slugger Shuichi Murata
, the team's cleanup hitter, tore his hamstring
while rounding first base in the second-round seeding match against South Korea held in San Diego on March 19, prompting national team Tatsunori Hara
to immediately call upon Kurihara to join the team. (Hara later said that he contacted Kurihara, whose dedication and commitment had impressed him during the Miyazaki camp, within five minutes of learning of the seriousness of Murata's injury.)
Kurihara arrived in San Diego on March 21, the day before the semi-finals against the United States
, and struggled to overcome the jet lag
and fatigue due to travel, going 0-for-3 (striking out twice and grounding into a double play
). However, Japan won anyway, defeating the United States 9-4 in the semi-finals on March 22 and South Korea 5-3 in the finals on March 23 to earn their second consecutive title.
. While he does not have exceptional plate discipline (.352 career on-base percentage as of May 16, 2009), he strikes out less often than other power hitters. He is particularly adept at hitting breaking balls but has gradually improved on his ability to hit fastball
s from year to year. He also has no trouble going the opposite way
and remains one of the few players in Japanese professional baseball that has power to all fields. He has commented that he modeled his swing after Hiromitsu Ochiai
, who played for the Lotte Orions, Dragons, Giants and Nippon Ham Fighters
and won Triple Crown honors in 1982, 1985 and 1986.
earlier in his career, so much so that he was once prohibited from diving for balls by the nigun coaching staff upon dislocating his shoulder
in a minor league game.
Bold indicates league leader; statistics current as of 2010
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Hiroshima Toyo Carp
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder , which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family . Because of that,...
.
The Carp's current cleanup hitter
Cleanup hitter
In baseball, the cleanup hitter is the hitter who bats fourth in the lineup. Although the third man up is generally the hitter with the highest batting average, cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best power hitter; their job is to "clean up the...
, Kurihara has blossomed into one of the most feared power threats in the Central League
Central League
The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League...
. He played in the 2009 World Baseball Classic
2009 World Baseball Classic
The 2009 World Baseball Classic was an international baseball competition. It is the only international baseball tournament to feature a large number of players from the major leagues of North America and Asia. It began on March 5, 2009, and finished March 23, 2009.Japan emerged victorious for the...
as an emergency replacement for Shuichi Murata
Shuichi Murata
is a third baseswine for the Yokohama BayStars.Murata led the Central League in home runs in both and and is one of the few pure home run hitters in Japanese professional baseball today...
, who suffered an injury in the second round
2009 World Baseball Classic - Round 2
The second round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic took place between March 15 and March 19, 2009 at PETCO Park in San Diego and Dolphin Stadium in Miami. Like the first round, the second round was a double-elimination tournament...
of the tournament.
Early life and high school career
Kurihara was born in TendōTendo, Yamagata
is a city located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 63,483 and a population density of 562 persons per km²...
, a small city in northern Yamagata Prefecture
Yamagata Prefecture
-Fruit:Yamagata Prefecture is the largest producer of cherries and pears in Japan. A large quantity of other kinds of fruits such as grapes, apples, peaches, melons, persimmons and watermelons are also produced.- Demographics :...
. He began playing baseball as a third grade
Third grade
In the United States, third grade is a year of primary education. It is the third school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 8 – 9 years old, depending on when their birthday occurs....
r, quickly working his way into his Little League team's cleanup spot and becoming their ace pitcher
Ace (baseball)
In baseball, an ace is the best starting pitcher of any team and nearly always the first pitcher in his starting rotation. Barring injury or exceptional circumstances, an ace usually always starts on Opening Day...
as well. He remained a pitcher throughout junior high
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
but was also noted for winning the high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
, 100-meter dash
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
and shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
in the citywide track and field event.
Kurihara went on to Nihon University Yamagata Senior High School, a private affiliate school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
of Nihon University
Nihon University
Nihon University is the largest university in Japan. Akiyoshi Yamada, the minister of justice, founded Nihon Law School in October 1889....
. Though the school's then-baseball coach Yoshiya Shibuya had scouted
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
him since Kurihara's junior high days and planned to continue using him as a pitcher, Shibuya was astonished by the bat speed as well as bat control with which Kurihara effortlessly drove ball after ball over the fence in batting practice. Kurihara was converted to the infield
Infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...
and made the team's No. 5 hitter in the summer of his first year (the equivalent of tenth grade
Tenth grade
In majority of the world,Tenth grade is the tenth year of school post-kindergarten. The variants of "10th grade" in various nations is described below.-Australia:...
in the United States) and had become the cleanup hitter by the fall.
Kurihara hit over .700 with two home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in the Tohoku Regional
Tohoku region
The is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....
Tournament
Single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
held in the spring of 1998, his junior year
Eleventh grade
Eleventh Grade is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16 or 17 years of age, depending on the country and the students' birthdays.-Brazil:...
, and led his team to a berth in the 80th National High School Baseball Championship
National High School Baseball Championship
The National High School Baseball Championship of Japan, commonly known as "Summer Kōshien" , is an annual nationwide high school baseball tournament...
that summer, but they lost to Seiryo High School, the Ishikawa
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is Kanazawa.- History :Ishikawa was formed from the merger of Kaga Province and the smaller Noto Province.- Geography :Ishikawa is on the Sea of Japan coast...
champions, 10-1 in the first round (Kurihara went 1-for-4 with the team's lone RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
).
Though that appearance ended up being his first and only on the national stage
High school baseball in Japan
In Japan, high school baseball generally refers to the two annual baseball tournaments played by high schools nationwide culminating at a final showdown at Hanshin Kōshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Japan...
, Kurihara was a highly coveted position player
Position player
In baseball, a position player is a player who on defense plays as an infielder, outfielder, or catcher. This is generally all players on a team except for the pitcher, who is considered separate from the position players; in the American League, there is also a designated hitter, who bats but...
with plus-power and speed by his senior year
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...
(1999) and was being scouted by 11 different NPB teams. He hit 39 home runs for his high school career and lifted a maximum of 120 kg (264.6 lb) on the bench press
Bench press
The bench press is an exercise of the upper body. For bodybuilding purposes, it is used to stimulate the pectorals, deltoids, and triceps. While on his or her back, the person performing the bench press lowers a weight to the level of the chest, then pushes it back up until the arm is straight...
, squatted
Squat (exercise)
In strength training, the squat is a compound, full body exercise that trains primarily the muscles of the thighs, hips and buttocks, quads , hamstrings, as well as strengthening the bones, ligaments and insertion of the tendons throughout the lower body...
a maximum of 330 kg (727.5 lb) and ran the 50- and 100-meter]] sprints
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
in 6.0 and 11.7 seconds, respectively. Despite rumors that the Yakult Swallows
Tokyo Yakult Swallows
is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei...
were looking to take him in the upper rounds, Kurihara was picked in the third round of the 1999 NPB amateur draft
Draft (sports)
A draft is a process used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Russia and the Philippines to allocate certain players to sports teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players...
by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Hiroshima Toyo Carp
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder , which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family . Because of that,...
, becoming the only active player from Yamagata Prefecture in all of Japanese professional baseball (he remained so until the end of the 2002 season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...
).
Early years: 2000 to 2003
Kurihara spent the entirety of his first two seasons in the prosProfessional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
with the Carp's nigun team (Japanese for "minor league
Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...
" or "farm team
Farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...
"), often battling with various injuries. He managed to hit .306 in his second season (2001) in the Western League
Western League (Japanese baseball)
The is one of the two minor leagues of Japanese professional baseball. The league is owned and managed by the Pacific League.-History:The league was created in 1952 as the Kansai Farm League, and contained the minor league teams of the seven professional teams that had their homefields in the...
.
2002
Kurihara became the nigun team's cleanup hitter for his third season in the pros and was chosen to play in the 2002 Fresh All-Star GameAll-star game
An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league, except in the circumstances of professional sports systems in which a democratic voting system is used...
(the Japanese equivalent of the All-Star Futures Game
All-Star Futures Game
The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game between a team of top minor league prospects from the United States and a team of prospects from other parts of the World...
) that summer, starting in the cleanup spot for the Western League (minors) team in the game held on July 11 (though he went 0-for-4 with two strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s). He was called up to the ichigun ("major league
Sports league
League is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...
") team in late August, making his professional debut as a pinch hitter
Pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...
in a game against the Chunichi Dragons
Chunichi Dragons
The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:...
on August 31 (he grounded out to short
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
against right-hander Daisuke Yamai
Daisuke Yamai
is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher with the Chunichi Dragons. In the 2007 Nippon Series, he threw eight innings of a combined perfect game with Hitoki Iwase to decide the series against the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.-References:...
). He made his first start on September 4 against the Hanshin Tigers
Hanshin Tigers
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...
as the team's No. 7 hitter and third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
and hitting a home run off Tigers right-hander (and current closer
Closer (baseball)
In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer , is a relief pitcher who specializes in closing out games, i.e., getting the final outs in a close game. Closers often appear when the score is close, and the role is often assigned to a team's best reliever. A small number of...
) Kyuji Fujikawa
Kyuji Fujikawa
is a closer for the Hanshin Tigers.Fujikawa pitched in the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics as well as the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A prototypical power pitcher, Fujikawa is said to have one of the most explosive fastballs in all of Japanese professional baseball and is one of Japan's premier...
for the first hit
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
of his career the following day (September 5).
Kurihara hit .305 with six home runs and 50 RBI in the Western League that season, leading the league in RBI and finishing third in batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
among all qualifying players. He was chosen to play in the 14th Asian Games
Baseball at the 2002 Asian Games
Baseball was one of the many sports which was held at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea beginning on October 2, 2002. Five East and Southeast Asian nations participated in the tournament...
held in Busan
Busan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...
as a member of the Japanese national team
Japan national baseball team
The Japan national baseball team is the national baseball team representing Japan in international competitions. They are one of the more successful baseball teams in the world, having won the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009...
along with other industrial league and minor league players (one from each of the twelve NPB teams) after the regular season.
2003
Despite high expectations by the Carp organization for the 2003 season, Kurihara struggled to secure a permanent spot on the ichigun team's rosterRoster
A roster is a list of names of people involved with an organization of some kind.A roster can be a list of people and the times when they are required to work or a list of students in a classroom....
, going back and forth between the majors and minors. He hit .315 with 13 home runs and 53 RBI in the Western League, leading the league in homers and RBI and finishing second in batting average (marking the third straight year
Seasonal year
The seasonal year is the time between successive recurrences of a seasonal event such as the flooding of a river, the migration of a species of bird, or the flowering of a species of plant....
he had hit over .300). He also improved his slugging percentage from .446 to .586 and struck out just 24 times. However, he played in just 26 games at the ichigun level, hitting .276 (but with a meager .286 on-base percentage) with three homers and six RBI. He recorded his first career stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
on April 16 against the Yomiuri Giants
Yomiuri Giants
The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the...
.
2004
Kurihara played well in the 2004 pre-season, hitting .250 with three home runs but knocking in a team-high 16 RBI. He made his first start in the season opener of his career as the Carp's No. 6 hitter and first baseman, starting the season off slowly but going on to make 61 starts at the ichigun level (often over teammate and fellow corner infielder Takahiro AraiTakahiro Arai
Takahiro Arai is a Japanese professional baseball player of Korean descent for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.-External links:...
, who was both older and more experienced at the time) and hitting .267 with 11 homers and 32 RBI in 90 total games.
On October 2, with the Carp finding themselves tied in the ninth inning with two outs
Out (baseball)
In baseball, an out occurs when the defensive, or fielding, team effects any of a number of different events, and the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. When a player is called out, he is said to be retired...
and runners on second
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
and third in a close game against the Tigers, Kurihara swung and missed with two strikes but failed to realize that catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
Akihiro Yano
Akihiro Yano
is a former Japanese baseball player in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He started his career as the Number 2 Draft pick with the Chunichi Dragons in , and played for the Hanshin Tigers from 1998 until his retirement in 2010.-References:...
had failed to catch the pitch
Pitch (baseball)
In baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball toward home plate to start a play. The term comes from the Knickerbocker Rules. Originally, the ball had to be literally "pitched" underhand, as with pitching horseshoes. Overhand throwing was not allowed until 1884.The biomechanics of...
. Though outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
Shigenobu Shima came racing home to score the game-winning run
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
, Kurihara failed to run to first, resulting in his being tagged out and costing his team a win (the game ended a 4-4 tie in extra innings as per NPB regulations). Though the Carp were already far out of title contention at the time, the baserunning blunder drew the ire of then-manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Koji Yamamoto
Koji Yamamoto (baseball)
is a former Japanese baseball player and manager of the Hiroshima Carp of Japan's Central League. A four-time home run king having played for Hiroshima Carp throughout his career, Yamamoto contributed to the team winning five league championships including its first-ever in 1975, and three titles...
, who removed Kurihara from the active roster and sent him down to the minors, declining to use him at all for the remaining eight games of the season despite opting to rest many of his starters and use other young players in place of them.
Kurihara married a batgirl
Batboy
A batboy is an individual who carries the baseball bats around to a baseball team. A batboy may also lay out the equipment and mud the baseballs to be used in the game.Mascots and batboys had both been part of baseball since the 1880s....
who worked at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, the Carp's home ballpark
Baseball park
A baseball park, also known as a baseball stadium, ball park, or ballpark is a venue where baseball is played. It consists of the playing field and the surrounding spectator seating...
, at the end of the year
Calendar year
Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day. By convention, a calendar year consists of a natural number of days. To reconcile the calendar year with an astronomical cycle , certain years...
.
2005
Despite hopes that he would cement his place in the Carp's starting lineupBatting order (baseball)
The batting order, or batting lineup, in baseball is the sequence in which the nine members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher. The batting order is the main component of a team's offensive strategy. The batting order is set by the manager before the game begins...
, Kurihara missed the opener of the 2005 season due to injuries. While he did not play at the ichigun level until June 21 in a game against the Swallows and did not see his first start until June 28 against the Tigers, he hit .275 with five home runs and 18 RBI and slugged .551 in a 20-game rehab
Physical therapy
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
stint in the minors, leading then-nigun team manager Tomio Kinoshita to say that it would be last time Kurihara would ever play at Yū
Yu, Yamaguchi
was a town in Kuga District, Yamaguchi, Japan.On March 20, 2006 Yū, along with the towns of Kuga, Mikawa, Miwa, Nishiki and Shūtō, and the village of Hongō, all from Kuga District, was merged into the expanded city of Iwakuni....
Baseball Ground, the home of the Carp's farm team. Kurihara replaced teammate Kenjiro Nomura
Kenjiro Nomura
, is a retired Japanese baseball player. He was with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Japan's Central League.He was born in Saiki, Ōita.He led his team into League Champion ....
at first base after the veteran got his 2000th career hit and went on to play in 77 games, making 66 starts and hitting .323 with 15 homers and 43 RBI. He hit .352 with 10 homers and 21 RBI in the month of August alone and his .366 on-base and .563 slugging percentage were all career highs, as were his numbers in all three Triple Crown
Triple crown (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, a player earns the Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories. For batters, a player must lead the league in home runs, run batted in , and batting average; pitchers must lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average...
categories.
Kurihara had his uniform number
Squad number
In team sports, the squad number, shirt number, jersey number, sweater number, uniform number or simply a number is the number worn on a player's uniform, to identify and distinguish each player from others wearing the same or similar uniforms...
changed from 50 to 5 during the off-season. His wife gave birth to their first child (a daughter) that July and held their wedding reception in December.
2006
Kurihara spent much of January 2006 in ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
to prepare for the coming 2006 season, reducing his body fat percentage
Body fat percentage
A person's body mass percentage is the total weight of the person's fat divided by the person's weight and consists of essential body fat and storage body fat. Essential body fat is necessary to maintain life and reproductive functions. The percentage of essential body fat for women is greater than...
from 10 to 9 percent and bulking up until he weighed 100 kg (220.5 lb). He saw his first start in the cleanup spot on May 24 in an interleague game against the Orix Buffaloes
Orix Buffaloes
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Osaka and Kobe, Japan. They play in the Pacific League. The team is owned by the Orix Group, a leading diversified financial services company based in Tokyo....
(though he went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts and a walk
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
) and hit .379 with five home runs and 23 RBI that month. He got hot in July as well, hitting .305 with seven homers and 19 RBI and winning the first Central League monthly Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
award of his career.
Kurihara experienced pain
Back pain
Back pain is pain felt in the back that usually originates from the muscles, nerves, bones, joints or other structures in the spine.The pain can often be divided into neck pain, upper back pain, lower back pain or tailbone pain...
in his lower back
Human back
The human back is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck and the shoulders. It is the surface opposite to the chest, its height being defined by the vertebral column and its breadth being supported by the ribcage and shoulders...
in August and was found to have a spinal disc hernia
Spinal disc herniation
A spinal disc herniation , informally and misleadingly called a "slipped disc", is a medical condition affecting the spine due to trauma, lifting injuries, or idiopathic, in which a tear in the outer, fibrous ring of an intervertebral disc allows the soft, central portion A spinal disc herniation...
upon further diagnosis, forcing him to undergo surgery on August 23 and miss the remainder of the season. (Ironically, right-hander and then-staff ace Hiroki Kuroda
Hiroki Kuroda
is a professional baseball player from Osaka, Japan who is currently a free agent. He is a starting pitcher, who most recently pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers .-Early days:...
, who was the co-winner of the monthly MVP award along with Kurihara, also suffered an injury that same month and ended up missing much of the season.) Regardless, Kurihara played in 109 games until his season-ending injury, hitting .295 with 20 homers and 69 RBI.
2007
Kurihara began his off-season workoutPhysical exercise
Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons including strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight loss or maintenance, as well as for the purpose of...
in Arizona for the second straight year alongside teammates Shima and Kei Yoshida, bringing his body fat percentage back down to 9 percent (from its peak of 13 percent while he was out due to injury) and his weight to 92 kg (202.8 lb). He played in all 144 games for the first time in his career despite bone spurs in his elbow and finished the 2007 season with a .310 batting average (fifth in the league), 25 home runs and 92 RBI. He was the only right-handed hitter in the league that finished with a slugging average of over .500 and less than 100 strikeouts that year. He was also equally effective against left-handed and right-handed pitchers, hitting .307 with 10 homers and a .564 slugging percentage against lefties and .311 with 15 homers and a .490 slugging percentage against righties. In particular, his two-run home run off Tigers closer Kyuji Fujikawa (who was then on pace to set an NPB record for most saves in a single season) on September 13 was the first home run that Fujikawa had allowed all season.
2008
With the Takahiro Arai's departure via free agencyFree agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
to the Tigers, Kurihara was officially appointed the team's cleanup hitter for the 2008 season. While he struggled in the opening weeks of the season, hitting .290 but with just two home runs and six RBI for the month of April, he hit .347 with three homers and 17 RBI (slugging .505) in 24 games in interleague play and .408 with six homers and 18 RBI in the month of July. He started all 144 games in the cleanup spot, hitting .332 with 23 homers and 103 RBI and keeping the Carp in playoff contention for much of the season. He marked career highs in batting average (third in the league), hits (185; second), RBI (fourth) and had the third-most plate appearances (616) of any player in the league. His 68 strikeouts were the fewest in any season in which he had played more than 100 games thus far and the second-fewest of any player in the league who had hit more than 20 homers (Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe
Shinnosuke Abe
is a professional baseball player with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He has played for the Japanese national team since 1999 as a catcher. In the 2009 Japan Series, he was named the Most Valuable Player.-Career statistics:...
hit 24 homers and struck out a mere 66 times).
Following the regular season, Kurihara and Arai (now with the Tigers) were both presented the Central League Golden Glove award at first base, marking the first time two players were chosen at the same position since then-Giants right-hander Masumi Kuwata
Masumi Kuwata
Masumi Kuwata is a former Japanese right-handed pitcher. He was formerly with the Yomiuri Giants of the Central League. He pitched 21 seasons with the Giants, beginning in 1986. In December 2006 Masumi signed a minor league deal with the Pirates...
and then-Dragons left-hander Shinji Imanaka won the award as pitchers in 1993. He underwent endoscopic
Endoscopy
Endoscopy means looking inside and typically refers to looking inside the body for medical reasons using an endoscope , an instrument used to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Unlike most other medical imaging devices, endoscopes are inserted directly into the organ...
surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
to remove articular cartilage
Cartilage
Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
fragments (the largest some 1.5 cm (0.590551181102362 in) in diameter
Diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
) in his elbow during the off-season.
2002 Asian Games
Kurihara saw his first stint on the international stage in 2002, playing in the 14th Asian Games2002 Asian Games
The 2002 Asian Games, also known as XIV Asiad is a multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002. Busan is the second city, after Seoul in 1986 to host the Games. A total of 419 events in 38 sports were contested by 7,711 athletes from 44 countries...
as a member of the Japanese national team (consisting entirely of industrial league and minor league players). He hit a home run against China
China national baseball team
The China national baseball team is the national representative team of the People's Republic of China.-Olympic Games:China secured qualification to the 2008 Summer Olympics automatically as host nation, giving the country its first Olympics berth....
in the preliminary round
Baseball at the 2002 Asian Games
Baseball was one of the many sports which was held at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea beginning on October 2, 2002. Five East and Southeast Asian nations participated in the tournament...
on October 5 as the starting first baseman and No. 6 hitter and contributed to Japan's bronze medal finish.
2009 World Baseball Classic
Though Kurihara was named to the national team's provisional roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic and took part in the training campTraining camp
A training camp is a place, usually with an army-camp-type environment, where people go to learn skills, usually skills involving physical action rather than book subjects, usually for an armed force or an action sport...
held in Miyazaki
Miyazaki, Miyazaki
is the capital city of Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū in Japan. Located on the coast and perforated by several rivers, Miyazaki City enjoys scenic views of both ocean and nearby, verdant mountains...
in mid-February, he was ultimately cut from the final 28-man team, perhaps partly due to the condition of his elbow (which he had had surgery on during the off-season). However, he was named one of the team's primary backup players and got his chance when Yokohama BayStars
Yokohama BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium....
slugger Shuichi Murata
Shuichi Murata
is a third baseswine for the Yokohama BayStars.Murata led the Central League in home runs in both and and is one of the few pure home run hitters in Japanese professional baseball today...
, the team's cleanup hitter, tore his hamstring
Hamstring
In human anatomy, the hamstring refers to any one of the three posterior thigh muscles, or to the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the posterior thigh muscles, or the tendons of the semitendinosus, the...
while rounding first base in the second-round seeding match against South Korea held in San Diego on March 19, prompting national team Tatsunori Hara
Tatsunori Hara
is the current manager for the Yomiuri Giants baseball team in Nippon Professional Baseball. He also played for the Yomiuri Giants during his professional baseball career from to . Hara led the Japan national baseball team to victory in the final of the 2009 World Baseball Classic.- External links :...
to immediately call upon Kurihara to join the team. (Hara later said that he contacted Kurihara, whose dedication and commitment had impressed him during the Miyazaki camp, within five minutes of learning of the seriousness of Murata's injury.)
Kurihara arrived in San Diego on March 21, the day before the semi-finals against the United States
United States national baseball team
The United States National Baseball team represents the United States in international baseball competition. The United States has won the previous two Baseball World Cups, having lost this title to the Netherlands in 2011, and is currently second in the IBAF World Rankings, behind Cuba.The team...
, and struggled to overcome the jet lag
Jet lag
Jet lag, medically referred to as desynchronosis, is a physiological condition which results from alterations to the body's circadian rhythms; it is classified as one of the circadian rhythm sleep disorders...
and fatigue due to travel, going 0-for-3 (striking out twice and grounding into a double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....
). However, Japan won anyway, defeating the United States 9-4 in the semi-finals on March 22 and South Korea 5-3 in the finals on March 23 to earn their second consecutive title.
Hitting
Currently listed at 183 cm (72 in) and 97 kg (213.8 lb), Kurihara is a burly right-handed pull hitterPull hitter
In baseball, a pull hitter is a batter who usually hits the ball to the side of the field from which he bats. For example, a right-handed pull hitter, who bats from the third-base side of the plate, will usually hit the ball to the third-base side of the field, termed "left field" according to the...
. While he does not have exceptional plate discipline (.352 career on-base percentage as of May 16, 2009), he strikes out less often than other power hitters. He is particularly adept at hitting breaking balls but has gradually improved on his ability to hit fastball
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
s from year to year. He also has no trouble going the opposite way
Opposite field
Opposite field is a baseball term that refers to the area of the outfield that faces the hitter, which would be right field for a right-hander and left field for a left-hander...
and remains one of the few players in Japanese professional baseball that has power to all fields. He has commented that he modeled his swing after Hiromitsu Ochiai
Hiromitsu Ochiai
Hiromitsu Ochiai is a former Japanese professional baseball player. He is currently manager of the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball...
, who played for the Lotte Orions, Dragons, Giants and Nippon Ham Fighters
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at the Sapporo Dome. The Fighters also host a select number of regional home games in cities across Hokkaidō,...
and won Triple Crown honors in 1982, 1985 and 1986.
Fielding
Though Kurihara entered the pros as a third baseman, he switched to first base during his days in the minors and has played that position almost exclusively since 2006. Kurihara has never been regarded as being particularly skilled defensively, winning the Gold Glove award at first base in 2008 but becoming the subject of criticism by many who believed he was chosen largely on merit of his offensive production. He was also plagued by a chronically loose shoulder jointGlenohumeral joint
The glenohumeral joint, or shoulder joint, is a multiaxial synovial ball and socket joint and involves articulation between the glenoid fossa of the scapula and the head of the humerus...
earlier in his career, so much so that he was once prohibited from diving for balls by the nigun coaching staff upon dislocating his shoulder
Shoulder
The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle , the scapula , and the humerus as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder make up the shoulder joints. The major joint of the shoulder is the glenohumeral joint, which...
in a minor league game.
Career statistics
| Nippon Professional Baseball | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Team | G Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,... |
AB At bat In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance... |
R Run (baseball) In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured... |
H Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice.... |
2B Double (baseball) In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... |
3B Triple (baseball) In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... |
HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process... |
TB Total bases In baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i.e., the sum of his hits weighted by 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run.Only bases attained from hits count toward this total.... |
RBI Run batted in Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI... |
SB Stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate... |
AVG Batting average Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :... |
OBP | SLG | OPS On-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League... |
| 18 | Hiroshima Hiroshima Toyo Carp The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder , which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family . Because of that,... |
No appearances at major league level | ||||||||||||||
| 19 | ||||||||||||||||
| 20 | 10 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | .182 | .217 | .409 | .626 | ||
| 21 | 26 | 76 | 7 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 31 | 6 | 1 | .276 | .286 | .408 | .694 | ||
| 22 | 90 | 270 | 26 | 72 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 114 | 32 | 2 | .267 | .292 | .422 | .714 | ||
| 23 | 77 | 254 | 31 | 82 | 16 | 0 | 15 | 143 | 43 | 0 | .323 | .366 | .563 | .929 | ||
| 24 | 101 | 373 | 44 | 110 | 19 | 0 | 20 | 189 | 69 | 2 | .295 | .330 | .507 | .837 | ||
| 25 | 144 | 565 | 77 | 175 | 37 | 1 | 25 | 289 | 92 | 3 | .310 | .361 | .512 | .873 | ||
| 26 | 144 | 557 | 69 | 185 | 31 | 1 | 23 | 287 | 103 | 5 | .332 | .389 | .515 | .904 | ||
| 27 | 140 | 521 | 68 | 134 | 21 | 0 | 23 | 224 | 79 | 1 | .257 | .327 | .430 | .757 | ||
| Career | 732 | 2738 | 324 | 783 | 134 | 3 | 121 | 1286 | 425 | 14 | .297 | .335 | .470 | .894 | ||
Bold indicates league leader; statistics current as of 2010
External links
- Kenta Kurihara Official Blog (Japanese)