Ryūku 龍空 | |
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Chunichi Dragons – No. 45 | |
Infielder | |
Born: Maibara, Shiga, Japan | December 30, 2002|
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
NPB debut | |
4 September 2021, for the Chunichi Dragons | |
NPB statistics (through 2023 season) | |
Batting average | .215 |
Hits | 105 |
Homeruns | 1 |
RBIs | 32 |
Teams | |
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Ryūku Tsuchida (土田龍空, Tsuchida Ryūku, born December 30, 2002) also known just as Ryūku is a professional Japanese baseball player. He is currently an infielder for the Chunichi Dragons.
Ryūku started playing baseball with in second grade. [1] While at Maibara Municipal Middle School, he played for Kohoku Boys. [2]
Ryūku was a first-team regular at short-stop as a freshman for Ōmi High School and played in the 100th anniversary koshien tournament in 2018 where he lost to a Kosei Yoshida led Kanaashi Agricultural High School. [3] In summer of his sophomore year, he would once again get playing time at koshien. In the first game, Ryūku was responsible for 2 errors leading to a loss to Tokai University Sagami High School. [4] In the fall, he helped his team win the Shiga Prefectural Tournament and in the first game of the Kinki Regional tournament, contributed with a 3-hit game. In his senior year, Ryūku was installed as Ōmi's captain, [5] and during the August training session for high schoolers trying to turn pro, he would hit a line-drive off future team-mate, Tsubasa Kato. [6]
At the 2020 Nippon Professional Baseball draft, Ryūku was selected in the 3rd round by the Chunichi Dragons. [7] On 22 November he signed a ¥6,000,000 per-year deal with a ¥45,000,000 sign-on bonus. [8]
Ryūku is said to have a prodigious batting sense with strong defensive skills. [9]
In his high school career, he hit 30 homeruns [8] with a batting average over .400. [10] He can run 50 metres in 6 seconds. [11]
Ryūku thinks Shohei Ohtani is the ideal player and upon being drafted, mentioned his reverence for then team-mate Yota Kyoda. He also said that he would most like to fac Yomiuri Giants pitcher Kai Yokogawa as they had faced each other during their middle-school days. [12]
It is said that he gets along well with Yota Kyoda even in private settings, and after Kyoda was traded he mentioned that "I do feel a bit lonely. I would like to do my best as a fellow short-stop to catch-up to him...or I would love to win a golden glove and overtake him." [13] [14]
In junior high, Ryūku was in the athletics club and has experience coming 6th in the Shiga prefectural tournament high jump competition. [10]