Aarom Baldiris

2.2.1. Hanshin Tigers period

Baldiris came to Japan in February 2008, having expressed interest in Japanese baseball after hearing about its high level from his seniors in the minor leagues. He participated in the Hanshin Tigers' spring training as a tryout player, alongside Albis Ojeda. He impressed with his batting, hitting a timely hit in a practice game, and his agile infield defense, earning him a contract as a development player (育成選手_{ikusei senshu}^Japanese). His initial uniform number was 121.

He began the 2008 season in the minor league's Western League, where he quickly excelled, hitting five home runs by April, leading the league. To improve his chances of a first-team promotion, he also started practicing as an outfielder. On May 2, 2008, he earned a spot on the active roster, and his uniform number was changed to 52. The very next day, he made his NPB debut against the Chunichi Dragons, entering as a pinch hitter in the top of the ninth inning with the bases loaded. He recorded his first career RBI by being hit by a pitch from Satoshi Takahashi. While his defense, particularly at third base, was excellent and often led to him being used as a defensive replacement, his hitting remained a challenge. Despite this, he showed promise and was re-signed for the following season.

In 2009, Baldiris started the season in the minor league. He was called up to the first team on April 22 to replace the struggling Kevin Mench, but after going hitless in 12 at-bats, he was demoted back to the minors on April 29. He was recalled on July 5 following the roster removal of Norihiro Akahoshi. In his first start of the season, playing as the leadoff batter and right fielder, he hit his first NPB home run off Masanori Ishikawa of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. This leadoff home run contributed to a victory, and he was chosen as one of the "Heroes" of that game alongside the Tigers' starting pitcher, Yasutomo Kubo. That season, he made two starts as the leadoff hitter and right fielder, and one start as the leadoff hitter and second baseman. Overall, he had limited success in the first team, with only 3 hits in 29 at-bats for a batting average of .103. However, in the Western League, he was the batting champion with a .358 average and also led the league with 93 hits. Due to his inconsistent performance in the first team, he was released by Hanshin on November 6, 2009.

2.2.2. Orix Buffaloes period

After his release from the Hanshin Tigers, Baldiris received offers from both the Orix Buffaloes and the Yokohama BayStars. He chose to join Orix, citing his desire to play under manager Akinobu Okada, who had also been his manager during his first year with Hanshin.

In 2010, he frequently played as a defensive replacement for Greg LaRocca. However, his offensive performance began to shine. On May 5, against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, he recorded two hits in extra innings after entering as a pinch-runner, which sparked a 15-game hitting streak. On May 8 and 9, against the Chiba Lotte Marines, he hit home runs in two consecutive games. In the May 9 game, he had four hits and three RBIs, earning his first post-game hero interview in Japan. Subsequently, as LaRocca's batting struggled due to injuries, Baldiris became the regular starting third baseman. On May 22, he hit a decisive home run against Naoto Tsuru of his former team, Hanshin, showcasing his abilities. On May 29, his hitting streak ended in a game against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows when he dislocated a tendon in his left middle finger during a swing. He returned on June 10 against the Yomiuri Giants, hitting the game-winning run in the eighth inning, contributing to the team's victory in the interleague play. Throughout the season, he consistently performed as the regular third baseman, praised for his clutch hitting and agile defense. He primarily batted 6th or 7th, but also batted 1st for three games when Tomotaka Sakaguchi was in the minor leagues, and 2nd for four games against left-handed pitchers like Tsuyoshi Wada in the Fukuoka Dome. He played 118 games, finishing with a .301 batting average, 14 home runs, and 50 RBIs, though he was just 12 at-bats short of qualifying for the batting title. Defensively, he recorded only seven errors, the fewest among third basemen who played over 100 games.

In 2011, Baldiris won the starting third base position over newly acquired Mike Hessman. He started the opening game against the SoftBank Hawks as the 7th batter and third baseman, hitting the team's first home run and RBI of 2011 (a solo home run off D.J. Houlton) in the eighth inning. On May 4, he hit a game-winning RBI against Masaru Takeda of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He maintained a batting average above .300 early in the season, even as the team collectively struggled below .200. However, he himself fell into a slump before interleague play and was demoted on May 22. After being re-registered on June 1 against Yokohama, he gradually regained his form. Following Hirotoshi Kitagawa's injury, he became the regular 5th batter in the latter half of the season. On September 13, against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, he hit his first career walk-off home run in Japan (against Koji Aoyama) in the tenth inning. Having received news of his grandmother's passing in his home country, he tearfully dedicated the home run to her during his post-game interview. He continued to be a core player for the team, hitting a solo home run against the SoftBank Hawks in the final game of the season, which was the team's last RBI. He played 137 games that year and, along with Yoshifumi Okada, became the first former development player to reach the qualified at-bats threshold. His batting average was .267, but he demonstrated strong clutch hitting with runners in scoring position, batting .328. He hit 18 home runs (3rd in the league, team top) and 66 RBIs (9th in the league). However, defensively, he committed 13 errors at third base. He performed well against the Chiba Lotte Marines, with a .341 batting average, 5 home runs, and 13 RBIs, but struggled somewhat against the SoftBank Hawks, batting .190.

In 2012, Baldiris again started the opening game as the 7th batter and third baseman. From April 28, against the Saitama Seibu Lions, he started a four-game home run streak. On April 30, also against the Seibu Lions, he hit a walk-off home run off Enrique Gonzalez. The very next day, May 1, against the Chiba Lotte Marines, he hit a reversal walk-off two-run home run off Yasuhiko Yabuta. This achievement made him the ninth player in NPB history, the third in the Pacific League, and the second foreign player to hit two consecutive walk-off home runs (since Ryosuke Hirata in 2011). Due to injuries to T-Okada and struggles from Mitsutaka Goto, Baldiris was also sometimes assigned to bat 3rd or 5th. His overall statistics for the season were slightly lower than the previous year, with a .264 batting average, 10 home runs, and 55 RBIs. However, he led the league with 31 doubles, and maintained a .301 batting average with runners in scoring position, hitting his third walk-off hit of the season on October 3 against the Chiba Lotte Marines in the tenth inning.

In 2013, despite difficult team circumstances that saw frequent player changes between the first and second teams, Baldiris played in a team-leading 142 games. He started the season as the 8th batter and third baseman, but primarily batted 5th. During a slump by Yoshio Itoi around the interleague play period, Baldiris temporarily batted 3rd. After Itoi's recovery, he returned to the 5th spot. In his final game on October 8 against the Rakuten Eagles, he batted 4th for the first time in his career in Japan, replacing Dae-ho Lee, who had returned to South Korea after his contract expired. Baldiris was a key contributor to the team throughout the season. Immediately after the season, he hinted at the possibility of moving to another team depending on contract conditions. Ultimately, negotiations between his agent and the club failed to reach an agreement, and he, along with Dae-ho Lee, was removed from the contract retention list on December 1.

2.2.3. Yokohama DeNA BayStars period

On December 21, 2013, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars announced they had acquired Baldiris on a two-year contract worth 150.00 M JPY. He maintained his uniform number 52, which necessitated rookie Taiki Sekine, who had initially been assigned 52, to change his number to 63.

In 2014, Baldiris was primarily used as the 6th batter and third baseman from the start of the official season. On May 10, in a game against the Yakult Swallows at Yokohama Stadium, he batted 4th for the first time since joining the BayStars. In the seventh inning, he hit a two-run home run, which was the team's only hit and RBI of the game, leading the team to its 1000th home victory (a milestone including the club's predecessor, the Taiyo Whales). After Yulieski Gurriel joined the team in June, and with Tony Blanco sidelined by injury, Baldiris sometimes played first base, as the team's strategy involved using Gurriel at third base and Takehiro Ishikawa at second base. For the 2014 season, he played in 139 first-team games, recording 17 home runs, 52 RBIs, and a .255 batting average.

In 2015, with Gurriel having left the team before the season, Baldiris was primarily assigned to bat 6th. On May 27, in a game against his former team, the Orix Buffaloes, at Yokohama Stadium, he hit a game-tying solo home run off Shohei Tsukahara in the seventh inning. This particular home run allowed him to achieve the rare feat of hitting a home run against all 12 NPB teams, making him the 29th player in NPB history and the 11th foreign player to do so. He again played in 139 first-team games, hitting 13 home runs, driving in 56 RBIs, and maintaining a .258 batting average. After completing his two-year contract, the BayStars decided not to renew his contract, influenced by their successful acquisition of Jamie Romak. The decision was announced on November 12, 2015.

2.3.1. Samsung Lions period

On December 30, 2015, the Samsung Lions announced they had signed Aarom Baldiris as a replacement for Yamaico Navarro, with a contract worth 950.00 K USD. He retained his uniform number 52.

During the 2016 season, Baldiris was plagued by injuries and inconsistent performance, frequently moving between the first team and the minor league (second team). In August, he underwent Achilles tendon surgery, which led to his departure from the team. He was eventually replaced by Darin Ruf. Baldiris retired from professional baseball after the 2016 season.