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Japan Forward
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Japan Forward
Teruaki Sato Having a Stellar Season for Hanshin Tigers
Popular slugger Teruaki Sato leads NPB in home runs and RBIs this season. The three-time All-Star also hopes to have a future opportunity to play in MLB. Hanshin Tigers cleanup hitter Teruaki Sato smacks a run-scoring double against the Chunichi Dragons on May 10, 2025, at Koshien Stadium. (©SANKEI) Hanshin Tigers third baseman Teruaki Sato, a mainstay in the lineup since 2021, is having a notable season in the 2025 campaign. Now in his fifth NPB season, the Hyogo Prefecture native is also closing in on a pair of career milestones ― 100 home runs (he has 95) and 1,000 total bases (he has 990) ― through Wednesday, May 21. Sato is one of NPB's top young players, a three-time Central League All-Star (2021-23). He's a fan favorite at his hometown Koshien Stadium and wherever else the Tigers play games. The 26-year-old left-handed slugger, who is batting .289, was No 1 among NPB players in home runs (11) and RBIs (33) heading into the CL-leading Tigers game on Thursday with the archrival Yomiuri Giants at Koshien. In addition, he's first in Japanese pro baseball in strikeouts (49). Indeed, the hard-swinging cleanup hitter often makes mighty contact when he hits with the ball (his 13 doubles and three triples in 2025 deliver ample evidence) or creates a stiff breeze when he misses. Sato's power-hitting ability is underscored by his impressive .616 slugging percentage. Teruaki Sato in a June 2021 file photo. (©SANKEI) Recognizing Sato's abilities as a baseball player, retired Hanshin legend Masayuki Kakefu recently expressed words of encouragement to him. "Don't let your condition fluctuate too much, but rather let the small [ripples] of good form help you stay in good shape and compete," Kakefu was quoted as saying by Full-Count, a Japanese baseball website. Kakefu, who bashed 349 homers in his NPB career (1974-88), which he spent entirely with the Tigers, then issued a pair of bold predictions for Sato. "I expect you to win the [Central League] home run and batting title," the 2025 Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductee was quoted as saying. In a live game telecast on Mainichi Broadcasting System on May 20, commentator Kakefu provided a slightly different analysis about Sato as a home-run title contender. "I think he has a great chance this year," said Kakefu, adding, "I think he has to win it this year." Teruaki Sato (©SANKEI) Sato didn't finish as one of the CL's top batters in his four previous seasons: batting averages of .238 in 2021, .264 in 2022, .263 in 2023 and .268 in '24. But he's elevated his play in 2025. After hitting at a .282 clip in April (24-for-85) with nine homers, Sato has raised his overall batting in May (.333) with a pair of homers in 16 games this month. In his first 41 games, nearly 30% of the entire season, Sato has been at his best with a 1-1 count. Opposing pitchers have been tagged for five homers against Sato in such situations in 2025. He's hitting .643 (9-for-14) when he puts the ball in play on 1-1 pitches. Conversely, the full count has produced considerable frustration for Sato. He's struck out 13 times on 3-2 pitches. Cutting down on strikeouts would help Sato maintain a higher batting average over the course of the season. It could also raise his profile among MLB scouts and front-office executives. In December 2024, Sato made an appearance on a Yomiuri TV morning program and outlined his future goals as a ballplayer. "Of course, I have been aspiring to play in the majors since I was a little kid," Sato said on Su Matan . "If I have a chance, I would like to make it to the majors." Sato, of course, isn't the only skilled batsman on the Tigers, who won the 2023 Japan Series. Teammates Takumu Nakano (.318), Shota Morishita (.304) and Koji Chikamoto (.302) are also among the CL's top 10 leaders in batting this season. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Teruaki Sato pose for photos on March 16 at Tokyo Dome. (©SANKEI) Like the rest of the Tigers organization, Teruaki Sato said he was excited the team got to play the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs in a pair of exhibition games in March before the MLB Tokyo Series. Sato drove in a run with a fifth-inning single in Hanshin's 3-0 triumph over the Cubs on March 15 at Tokyo Dome. A day later, Sato grabbed the spotlight in the fourth inning. Facing Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell, Sato swung and missed a four-seam fastball on the first pitch. Snell followed with a pair of balls (both sliders). On Snell's fourth offering, Sato didn't connect on a curveball. Sato wasn't fooled by Snell's 2-2 pitch. He crushed the four-seam fastball over the right-center field fence to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. Hanshin's Teruaki Sato belts a three-run homer off Dodgers star Blake Snell in the fourth inning on March 16 at Tokyo Dome. (©SANKEI) That blast accounted for the only runs in the game. In a feature story about Sato published in May in Sports Graphic Number and on the magazine's website, the popular slugger discussed his philosophy in the batter's box. "If you hit it hard, it will fly," Sato said. Snell was a 21-game winner for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018, and amassed 14 victories for the San Diego Padres in 2023. "Of course I knew about Snell," Sato said, according to Sports Graphic Number . "But I never thought I'd be facing him." On the other hand, there's every reason to believe that Sato's fame will continue to increase throughout baseball. Tigers third baseman Teruaki Sato is interviewed after the team's 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 16 at Tokyo Dome. (Darren Yamashita/IMAGN IMAGES/via REUTERS) Author: Ed Odeven Find Ed on JAPAN Forward' s dedicated website, SportsLook . Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven .
Japan Times
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Japan Times
Confident Hanshin slugger Teruaki Sato taking game to next level
Teruaki Sato gave Hanshin Tigers fans an early 2025 highlight when he homered off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell, a two-time Cy Young winner, during an exhibition at Tokyo Dome in March. While undoubtedly a cool moment for Tigers fans, it was the type of thing that tends to fade from memory once the pennant race gets underway. But as the season rolls into its second month with Sato slugging at a high level, that home run against Snell is beginning to look like it was a sign of bigger things to come. Sato hit another home run at the Big Egg on Monday — this time in a game that counted — connecting on a three-run blast that put the finishing touches on a 10-1 victory over the Yomiuri Giants. 'I really focused, and I was able to hit a home run, so I think it was good,' Sato said. He had a pair of hits in the win, which came on Children's Day. 'I hope they were happy,' he said when told there were a lot of kids in the stands. Sato, 26, has been thrilling Hanshin fans of all ages with his recent play. He went into Tuesday's game against the Giants hitting .288 with 11 home runs. He was also on a seven-game hitting streak, batting .400 with three homers during that stretch. Sato is off to a much better start than he was at this time last year when he was batting .191 with three home runs. He was actually off to a slow beginning this year as well before breaking out with a 4-for-4 performance against the Hiroshima Carp on April 20 that included a pair of home runs and six RBIs. The Hanshin slugger is in his fifth season in NPB. He hit over 20 home runs in his first three years and helped the Tigers win a long-awaited Japan Series title in 2023. He is also part of a potent duo with No. 3 hitter Shota Morishita, who had four hits and a homer on Monday. Even with everything Sato, a three-time All-Star, has already accomplished, his start this year has some wondering if he has finally put everything together. Tigers stars Shota Morishita and Teruaki Sato celebrate after Sato hit a two-run homer during a win over the Swallows on April 17 in Tokyo. | Jiji 'I've been watching him for three years, and it's what I was waiting for,' said Tigers hurler Jeremy Beasley, the winning pitcher on Monday. 'I think everybody in Japan knew it was going to happen, just didn't know when. I hope he continues that trend because right now, he looks unstoppable. "He has the prettiest swing I've seen since Ken Griffey. It's beautiful. I think that this was just waiting to happen." Sato's 11 home runs through Monday were the most among all NPB players — no other player was in double figures — and more than the team totals of the Chunichi Dragons, DeNA BayStars, Hiroshima Carp and Seibu Lions, who each had 10, and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, who had seven. The Tigers slugger reached double digits on May 1 and is on track to obliterate his career high of 24 home runs — which he reached as a rookie in 2021 and again in 2023 — and was on a 50-homer pace after his three-run shot in the ninth inning against the Giants. Sato also left Monday's game leading Japan with 31 RBIs, a 1.017 on-base plus slugging percentage, and, according to data site Deltagraphs, a 233 weighted runs created-plus (wRC+), which measures offensive contribution while accounting for external factors like ballparks. The Central League's average wRC+ was 94 through Monday. His major failing so far is that he has been strikeout-prone. Despite his contributions in other areas, Sato has struck out 40 times, the most in NPB. That has been a recurring issue for Sato, who has been in the top three in strikeouts in every year of his career. After his home run against Snell, Sato said that even though it was a tough situation for the Dodgers, who had arrived in Japan from the U.S. days earlier ahead of the season-opening MLB Tokyo Series, the hit still gave him confidence. In that respect, the homer may have set the stage for Sato's early success. "I think it's a confidence thing, being confident at the plate,' Beasley said. 'He knows now where the pitchers think that his holes are, and I think he's exploiting them. Because they're trying to still pick at those old holes. I think he's just comfortable in the box. "I think that there was a lot of pressure put on him early to be that (elite) player. I think now he's kind of falling into it without having to worry about it. I think for him, it's just all confidence at the plate."
