In baseball, completing the cycle is the accomplishment of hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. [1] Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle", which has occurred five times in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The cycle itself is rare in NPB, occurring 76 times since Fumio Fujimura's first cycle during the single league era in 1948. [2] In terms of frequency, the cycle is roughly as common as a no-hitter (90 occurrences in NPB history); Baseball Digest calls it "one of the rarest feats in baseball". [3] Hitting for the cycle was not recognized in Japanese professional baseball until former Major League Baseball (MLB) player Daryl Spencer made a remark about it after hitting for the cycle with the Hankyu Braves in 1965. [4] Of the 12 current NPB teams, only the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles have never had at least one player hit for the cycle. [2]
The most cycles hit by a player in Nippon Professional Baseball is three, accomplished by Bobby Rose. Playing for the Yokohama BayStars, Rose hit his first cycle on May 2, 1995, the next on April 29, 1997, and his final cycle on June 30, 1999. Other than Rose, only three other NPB players have hit multiple cycles: Fumio Fujimura with the Osaka Tigers and Hiromi Matsunaga with the Hankyu/Orix Braves and Kosuke Fukudome with the Chunichi Dragons and the Hanshin Tigers, all with two. Fujimura is also the only player to have hit a cycle during both the single league era and the current dual league era. [2] The 2003 NPB season saw the most cycles hit in a single season—five. [2] That season also saw the only instance of cycles occurring in two different games on the same day: on July 1, hit by Atsunori Inaba of the Yakult Swallows and Arihito Muramatsu of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. [5] The next day, Shinjiro Hiyama became the third player to hit for the cycle in two days. [6] Conversely, the longest period of time between two players hitting for the cycle is one day shy of 6 years. The drought has lasted from Michihiro Ogasawara's cycle in 2008 until Rainel Rosario's in 2014. [2]
No player has ever hit a cycle in both the Central and Pacific Leagues; however, after Alex Ochoa hit his cycle with the Dragons on April 13, 2004, he became the only player to hit a cycle in both MLB and NPB. Ochoa hit his first and only cycle in the MLB eight years prior on July 3, 1996, while playing for the New York Mets. [7] Swallows catcher Atsuya Furuta is the only player to hit for the cycle in an NPB All-Star game, hitting one in game 2 of the 1992 series. [8] Furuta's cycle is not considered an official NPB cycle as it occurred during an exhibition game. [2] Inaba is the only player to hit for the cycle in a rain-shortened game. After hitting a triple in the first inning and hitting a home run in the fourth, Inaba collected the other two necessary hits in a seven-run fifth inning when the order batted around. [5] Six players achieved their cycles by acquiring a required hit during extra innings. [2] Kosuke Fukudome is the only player to have hit a grand slam as the home run of the cycle. [9] Hiroshi Ohshita and Kazuhiko Kondo are the only two players to have hit a walk-off home run to win the game as the final hit of their cycles.
† | Inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum |
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* | Denotes a natural cycle |
§ | Indicates that a hit required for the cycle was acquired during extra innings |
(x) | Number of cycles recorded to that point (if the player recorded more than one) |
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The Chunichi Dragons are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times and the Japan Series twice. They were also champions in the 2007 Asia Series.
The Meikyukai is one of the two baseball halls of fame in Japan, the other being the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. The Meikyukai is a limited company for public benefit.
Alex Ochoa is a Cuban-American former professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball.
Kosuke Fukudome is a retired Japanese professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 2008 to 2012, primarily with the Chicago Cubs and had a long spanning career in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Chunichi Dragons and Hanshin Tigers.
Kenshin Kawakami is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chunichi Dragons and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves.
Arihito Muramatsu is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder, and current the first squad outfield defense and base coach for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Daryl Dean Spencer was an American professional baseball player and infielder who played shortstop, second base and third base in Major League Baseball between 1952 and 1963 for the New York / San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds. He played for the Hankyu Braves of Nippon Professional Baseball between 1964 and 1972. On April 15, 1958, he hit the first home run in San Francisco Giants' history in an 8–0 victory over the Dodgers. He threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 185 pounds (84 kg).
Fumio Fujimura was a Japanese baseball infielder and pitcher who played 22 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 1936 to 1958. He began his career as a stellar right-handed pitcher for the Osaka Tigers, but achieved his greatest fame as a hitter.
Kōichi Tabuchi is a Japanese former professional baseball player, manager, and commentator. During his career, Tabuchi played for the Hanshin Tigers and the Seibu Lions. Tabuchi played catcher for the Hanshin Tigers from 1969 and 1978, where his combination with pitcher Yutaka Enatsu was called the "Golden Battery".
Hayato Sakamoto is a Japanese professional baseball shortstop with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
The Japan Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the Japan Series, which is the final round of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) postseason. The award was first presented in 1950.
In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League Baseball (MLB), having occurred only 344 times, starting with Curry Foley in 1882. The most recent cycle in MLB was accomplished by José Altuve of the Houston Astros on August 28, 2023.
Zoilo Manuel Almonte is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees and the KBO League for the KT Wiz.
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Yuki Yanagita, nicknamed "Gita (ギータ)", is a professional Japanese baseball outfielder for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He is a nine-time All-Star and a two-time Pacific League MVP, earning those honors in 2015 and 2020. Yanagita has won six Japan Series championships with the Hawks.
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Kohei Shibata is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Following a college career that included representing Japan at the 2008 World University Baseball Championship, Shibata was drafted by the Tigers in 2008 and made his first-team debut for the club in the following year. After having regular playing time in the Tigers' first team early in his career, his opportunities have reduced in recent years due to injury and the emergence of younger players.
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