Seibu Akiyama and Reds aim for major league agreement with Reds

Shogo Akiyama, who is aiming to enter the major league from professional baseball player Seibu, has agreed to a three-year contract with Reds, according to multiple US media sources on Tuesday.

Akiyama, a 31-year-old player who continued to be the main player of Seibu, has won the most hits four times, including hitting 216 hits four years ago and setting the record for the most hits in the season.

In October, Akiyama announced that in October he would use his FA and free agent rights to transfer abroad to transfer to the Major League Baseball Team, and has negotiated with multiple baseball teams in the United States. Was.

Akiyama had several teams interested in winning the game, but US media reported on Thursday that Akiyama had signed a three-year contract with Reds.

The three-year contract totals $ 20 million, or about 2.18 billion yen in Japanese yen.

Reds is a member of the National League Central Region and has a history of five World Champions and nine National League champions.

Reds is the only member of the 30 Major League baseball teams that Japanese players have never played, and will be the first Japanese player when Akiyama signs a formal contract.

The Reds camp will begin in Arizona next mid-February, and Akiyama is looking to win the regulars.

About Shogo Akiyama

Shogo Akiyama, a ninth-year professional, is a 31-year-old from Kanagawa Prefecture. Hachinohe University and Hachinohe Gakuin University joined Seibu in 2011 as the 3rd draft.

Akiyama, who played 110 games in the first year, reached the batting bat in the second year and scored a batting average of 29.93% to seize the regular position in the outfield.

In his fifth year, he hit 216 hits with his skillful bat control, breaking the record for the most hits of the season to win the title for the first time.

Akiyama has won the most hits titles four times, including this season, and has also won the top hitters.

The center also boasts a wide range of defense as a center, and has won the Golden Glove Award six times in five consecutive years until this season.

In addition, Best Nine has been awarded four times, including the third consecutive year until this season.

His overall record was 1207 hits in 1207 matches. He has a batting average of 30 percent, 116 home runs, and 513 RBIs.