Nori Aoki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Norichika Aoki青木 宣親 |
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Aoki with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2018
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| Outfielder | |||||||||||||||||
| Born: January 5, 1982 Hyūga, Miyazaki, Japan |
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| Professional debut | |||||||||||||||||
| NPB: July 17, 2004, for the Yakult Swallows | |||||||||||||||||
| MLB: April 6, 2012, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | |||||||||||||||||
| NPB: October 5, 2024, for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows | |||||||||||||||||
| MLB: October 1, 2017, for the New York Mets | |||||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics | |||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .313 | ||||||||||||||||
| Hits | 1,956 | ||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 145 | ||||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 667 | ||||||||||||||||
| Stolen bases | 177 | ||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .285 | ||||||||||||||||
| Hits | 774 | ||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 33 | ||||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 219 | ||||||||||||||||
| Stolen bases | 98 | ||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Norichika "Nori" Aoki (born January 5, 1982) is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder. He played for many teams, including the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, and San Francisco Giants in Major League Baseball (MLB). He also played for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan.
Aoki is one of only six players in Japanese professional baseball history to get 200 or more hits in a single season. He is the only player to do this in two different seasons! He also played for the Japanese national team in the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, and 2017. He also played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Contents
Early Life and College Baseball
Norichika Aoki was born in Hyūga, Miyazaki, Japan. He went to elementary and junior high school there. Later, he attended Hyuga High School. It might surprise you, but Aoki was a pitcher all through junior high and high school! He only started playing in the outfield when he went to Waseda University.
At Waseda University, Aoki played with many talented baseball players. Some of his teammates, like Takashi Toritani and Tsuyoshi Wada, also became professional players later on. These players formed one of the best lineups in college baseball history. They helped Waseda win four straight Tokyo Big6 titles.
Aoki was a great hitter in college. He hit .463 in his junior year. He even set a Tokyo Big6 record by scoring six runs in one game! He hit .332 during his college career. He was chosen as the best right fielder three times. In 2003, the Yakult Swallows picked him in the fourth round of the NPB draft.
Professional Baseball Career
Playing for the Yakult Swallows (Japan)
Aoki started his professional career with the Yakult Swallows in 2004. He didn't play much in his first year in the main league. But he did very well in the minor leagues, hitting .372. He even won the MVP award in the Fresh All-Star Game, which is like a minor league All-Star game.
In 2005, Aoki had a fantastic year! He became the starting center fielder. He worked hard and became the leadoff batter for the Swallows. On October 11, 2005, he made history by becoming only the second player in NPB history to get 200 hits in one season. The first was Ichiro Suzuki. Aoki finished the season with 202 hits, which was a league record. He also led the league in batting average (.344). Because of his amazing season, he was named the league's Most Valuable Rookie.
In 2006, Aoki played for the Japanese national team in the first World Baseball Classic. He also made his second All-Star appearance and was named MVP of Game 1. He finished the season with 192 hits, leading both leagues in Japan. He also led the league in stolen bases with 41.
Aoki continued to be a star player for the Swallows. In 2007, he became the fastest player in Japanese baseball history to get 500 career hits, doing it in just 373 games. He won his second batting title with a .346 average. He also hit 20 home runs that year, showing he had power too.
In 2008, Aoki played in the Beijing Olympics for Japan. He continued to hit well, finishing the season with a .347 batting average. He also stole 31 bases.
Moving to Major League Baseball (MLB)
In 2012, Aoki decided he wanted to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States. The Milwaukee Brewers signed him to a contract. He became the first Japanese player to join the Brewers through this special process.
Aoki played a lot in his first year with the Brewers. He hit .288 with 10 home runs and 30 stolen bases. He often batted first in the lineup. He even tied a Brewers team record by stealing four bases in one game! He finished fifth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. In 2013, he continued to play well for the Brewers, hitting .286 with 8 home runs and 20 stolen bases.
Playing for the Kansas City Royals
In 2014, Aoki was traded to the Kansas City Royals. He was the leadoff hitter for most of the season. On August 6, 2014, he hit his first career grand slam home run! He also set a Royals team record by getting 11 hits in a three-game series.
Aoki helped the Royals reach the playoffs for the first time in 29 years. He played a key role in their exciting Wild Card game win. The Royals made it all the way to the 2014 World Series, but they lost in seven games. Aoki played in many of these important playoff games.
Playing for the San Francisco Giants
In 2015, Aoki signed with the San Francisco Giants. He started the season very well, hitting .317. On May 3, 2015, he hit a leadoff home run, and his teammate hit one right after him. This was the first time the Giants had started a game with two home runs in a row since 1964!
Aoki faced some bad luck with injuries that year. He was hit by a pitch twice, which caused him to miss several games. Despite the injuries, he still batted .287 and led the Giants with 14 stolen bases.
Playing for the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros
In 2016, Aoki played for the Seattle Mariners. He played in 118 games and continued to hit well, with a .283 batting average.
In 2017, the Houston Astros picked up Aoki. On June 11, 2017, he reached a huge milestone: his 2000th career professional hit! This included all his hits from both Japan and MLB. Even though he was traded before the Astros won the World Series that year, he still received a World Series ring because he played 70 games for them.
Short Stints with Toronto and New York
After the Astros, Aoki played briefly for the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets in 2017. He continued to hit well in these short periods.
Return to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows
In 2018, Aoki signed a three-year deal to return to his original team, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. This was a big moment for him and his fans in Japan. In May 2018, he reached 4,000 at-bats in NPB. With his high career batting average, he officially became NPB's lifetime batting champion. He was also selected for the 2018 NPB All-Star game.
Aoki continued to play for the Swallows until 2024. On September 14, 2024, he announced that he would retire at the end of the season.
International Baseball Career
World Baseball Classic Champion
Aoki was a key player for the Japanese national team in the World Baseball Classic.
- 2006 World Baseball Classic: He helped Japan win the first-ever World Baseball Classic.
- 2009 World Baseball Classic: He played a big part in Japan winning the tournament again in 2009. He hit .324 and was named to the All-Tournament team.
- 2017 World Baseball Classic: He played center field for Team Japan, which finished 3rd.
Olympic Games
Aoki also played for Japan in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He played in all nine games and hit .294. Japan finished in fourth place.
How Norichika Aoki Played
Hitting Style
Aoki is known as a "contact hitter." This means he's great at hitting the ball and getting on base. He can hit the ball to all parts of the field. He also uses his speed to turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples. He was so good at hitting to the left side of the field that teams even started using an "Aoki Shift" to try and stop him!
Over the years, Aoki also developed more power. He became a threat to hit home runs as well as get many hits. He is known for having different batting stances, which he would change if he wasn't hitting well.
Fielding Skills
Aoki was also an excellent defensive player. He was known as a superb center fielder. He had great instincts and could cover a lot of ground in the outfield. He won six Golden Glove awards in a row in Japan from 2006 to 2011.
When he played in MLB, he continued to show his strong defense. In one game with the Brewers, he made nine putouts in right field, which is a lot for an outfielder! He was known throughout the Brewers team as a very reliable defender.
Personal Life
Norichika Aoki is married to Sachi Ohtake, who used to be a broadcaster in Japan. They have two children together.
