Seiya Suzuki

BIOGRAPHY

Seiya Suzuki was born August 18, 1994, in Tokyo, Japan. He is an outfielder in the MLB.

Suzuki made his second consecutive All-Star appearance, receiving the most votes among Central League outfielders. On August 23, Suzuki left the game due to an ankle injury. Six days later, the Carp announced that he underwent surgery to treat a malleolar fracture on his right tibia and a deltoid ligament injury, ending his 2017 season. He finished the season batting .300/.389/.547 with 26 home runs, 90 RBIs and 16 stolen bases, and led the Central League with a .936 OPS.

End of the season awards for Suzuki included his second consecutive Gold Glove Award and Best Nine Award.

In 2021, Suzuki played in 132 games for the Carp, setting a career-high in home runs, with 38, to go along with 88 RBI and a .317/.433/.636 slash line. Suzuki was the Central League batting champion and on-base percentage leader, and was named a NPB All-Star for the fifth time in his career. He was also awarded his fifth career Central League Golden Glove Award and sixth career, and sixth straight Best Nine Award.

Following the 2021 season, on November 22, 2021, Suzuki was posted by Hiroshima and made available to all 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, opening a 30-day period to negotiate a contract. However, due to the 2021–22 MLB lockout, Suzuki's 30-day posting window was paused. On March 18, 2022, Suzuki officially agreed to a five-year contract worth $85 million. Suzuki made his Cubs debut on April 7, 2022, working a full-count walk against Corbin Burnes in his first MLB plate appearance. He was the first Cub to make their MLB debut as an Opening Day starter since Kosuke Fukudome in 2008. Suzuki collected his first major league hit in the 5th inning of that game, a line-drive single to shallow left field off of Burnes.