Seiya Suzuki

 is a professional Japanese baseball outfielder for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Suzuki is a four-time NPB All-Star, four-time NPB Best Nine Award winner, and a three-time winner of the Gold Glove Award.
Professional career.
Draft.
The Carp drafted Suzuki in the 2nd round of the 2012 NPB draft. He was mainly a pitcher during his high school career and was drafted as such, but switched to an infielder upon joining the team. Suzuki was given #51 as his uniform number.
2013.
Suzuki made his NPB debut on September 14 at the age of 19 and appeared in 11 games, spending most of the season in the farm system.
2014.
Suzuki continued to spend most of the season in the farm system, playing 36 games with a batting average of .344, an on-base percentage of .382, and a slugging percentage of .500.
2015.
Prior to the 2015 season, the Carp changed Suzuki's position designation from an infielder to an outfielder. Suzuki started the season with a spot on the opening day starting lineup, and eventually played in 97 games, hitting 5 home runs with a batting average of .275, an on-base percentage of .329, and a slugging percentage of .403.
2016.
Suzuki couldn't make the 2016 opening day roster due to a hamstring strain he suffered during spring training, and returned to the team on April 5. Suzuki made his first NPB All-Star Series appearance this year, recording his first hit on the 1st game of the series, and his first RBI on the 2nd. Suzuki led the team in batting average (.335), home runs (29) and OPS (1.016), winning the Gold Glove Award and the Best Nine Award. He had also helped drive the Carp to their first pennant in twenty five years.
2017.
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.
2018.
On April 4, 2018, Suzuki was removed from the roster after experiencing muscle stiffness in his lower body. He was reactivated on the 18th. Suzuki was named for his third consecutive NPB All-Star Series, and marked his first All-Star game home run off of Yusei Kikuchi.
Suzuki finished the season batting .320/.438/.618, with 30 home runs and 94 RBIs. The Carp won their third consecutive Central League pennant that year, and went on to face the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the Japan Series. While his team lost the series, Suzuki hit 10-for-22 (.455) with 3 home runs and 6 RBIs during the Japan Series.
Suzuki won his third consecutive Best Nine Award. On November 19, the team announced that Suzuki's uniform number would be changed to #1.
2019.
Suzuki was named for his fourth consecutive NPB All-Star Series after receiving the most votes among all Central League players. On July 13, he won the 2019 NPB Home Run Derby, defeating Orix Buffaloes outfielder Masataka Yoshida 4-3 in the final round.
For the season, Suzuki appeared in a career-high 140 games, leading the NPB in batting average (.335), OBP (.453), OPS (1.018) with 112 runs scored (1st in the Central League), 28 home runs (9th), 87 RBIs (9th), 25 stolen bases (4th). After the season, Suzuki was awarded his fourth consecutive Best Nine Award and his third Gold Glove.
International career.
Suzuki represented the Japan national baseball team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic and 2019 WBSC Premier12.
On October 1, 2019, he was selected at the 2019 WBSC Premier12. He was named the tournament MVP, after leading the tournament with a .478 batting average, .567 OBP, 1.130 slugging percentage, two triples, 9 runs, and 12 RBIs and tying for the lead with 11 hits and three home runs.
Personal life.
Suzuki married former Olympic rhythmic gymnast Airi Hatakeyama on December 7, 2019.
He went to the same middle school as Japanese actress Seika Furuhata, and knew each other through a mutual friend.