Friday, October 30, 2015

Akihiro Higashide

Another retiring player was Akihiro Higashide of the Carp.  You'd be forgiven if you thought he'd already retired - he hasn't appeared at the ichi-gun level since 2012.  He was drafted in the first round of the 1998 draft by the Carp out of Tsuruga Kehi High School.  His best seasons were between 2006-10 - he made the All Star team in 2006, 2008-10 and was named to the Best 9 team in 2008 and 2009.  He injured his knee in spring training of 2013 and has never really recovered.  The Carp made him the ni-gun hitting coach last spring so he spent 2015 as a player-coach.  He also played for the Japanese National Team in the 2001 Baseball World Cup.

1999 BBM #369

2002 BBM Japan National Team #45

2006 BBM All Stars #A60

2009 BBM Carp #C89

2014 Front Runner Carp Rookies & Young Stars #09

2015 BBM Carp #C40

No comments: