Fumihiro Suzuki

2.1. High School and University Years

Suzuki attended Sendai Ikuei High School where he displayed his versatility on the baseball field. In 1992, he participated in the 64th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament as a shortstop. Later that year, he played as a catcher in the 74th National High School Baseball Championship. After graduating from high school, Suzuki enrolled at Tohoku Fukushi University, joining its strong baseball program. In his fourth year, he served as the team captain and was selected for the Best Nine Catcher award in both the spring and autumn collegiate seasons. He also played in the National University Baseball Championship, where his team reached the best eight. Utilizing his exceptional speed, a rare trait for a catcher, he also earned the stolen base title in the autumn of his fourth year. During his time at Tohoku Fukushi University, he played alongside notable seniors such as catcher Kimiyasu Ono, and pitchers Ken Kadohira and Takashi Yamada, who would later become his teammates with the Chunichi Dragons. He also formed a battery with Hiroyuki Yamaoka, who would later become a batting pitcher for the Orix Buffaloes. Suzuki's impressive amateur career culminated in his selection by the Chunichi Dragons in the fourth round of the 1997 NPB draft.

3.1. Chunichi Dragons (1998-2002)

Suzuki joined the Chunichi Dragons in 1998, where he was highly anticipated as a potential successor to veteran catcher Takeshi Nakamura. In 2000, he received a significant opportunity when he was selected to represent Japan as a catcher for the Sydney Olympics baseball team, filling in for Atsuya Furuta during the qualifying rounds.

In 2001, Suzuki was involved in a memorable play during a game against the Yomiuri Giants at Nagoya Dome on May 12. In the bottom of the ninth inning, with two outs and the bases loaded, he was on third base when a fly ball was hit to the outfield. He made a baserunning error that led to a triple play, costing his team a potential comeback. His playing time significantly decreased in 2002 following the arrival of Toshihiro Tanishige. At the end of the 2002 season, he was traded to the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in a cash deal.

3.2. Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes (2003-2004)

Suzuki's tenure with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes began in 2003. In his third game of the season against the Orix Buffaloes, he hit his second career home run against Tsunehisa Ogura, his first in three years. However, this was his only hit of the season. He struggled to secure the starting catcher position, competing with teammates Tetsuya Yamasaki and Akihito Fujii, and ultimately played in only 12 games. The 2004 season saw Suzuki not make any first-team appearances. Following the league realignment at the end of the year, which resulted in the merger of the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave, Suzuki joined the newly formed Orix Buffaloes through the player allocation draft, where he aimed to compete for a starting role.

3.3. Orix Buffaloes (2005-2012)

Suzuki joined the Orix Buffaloes in 2005, following the team's merger with the Kintetsu Buffaloes. On May 6, 2005, during the inaugural interleague series against his former team, the Chunichi Dragons, Suzuki was named the starting catcher. He effectively led the pitching staff, utilizing his knowledge of the Dragons' hitters, which helped the Buffaloes secure their first interleague victory.

The 2006 and 2007 seasons saw Suzuki spend the majority of his time with the team's farm team. However, in 2008, following the appointment of Daijiro Ohishi as interim manager, Suzuki's versatility became highly valued. He was often used not only as a backup catcher but also as a pinch-runner, recording 11 runs and his first stolen base in seven years. Under Ohishi's management, who typically registered only five outfielders (including Tuffy Rhodes who was often a designated hitter), Suzuki frequently practiced outfield drills before games, making him an emergency outfield option. His ability to fill multiple roles led to his consistent presence on the first-team roster.

In 2009, Suzuki's opportunities increased significantly when starting catcher Tsuyoshi Hidaka was sidelined due to injury. Suzuki became the primary catcher, playing in 63 games and recording 8 stolen bases, the second-highest on the team. On April 21, 2010, in a game against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Suzuki had a remarkable performance. He hit a go-ahead three-run home run against Keisuke Tanimoto, his first home run in seven years, and ended the game with 4 hits (3 doubles, 1 home run) and 6 RBIs, earning him a post-game interview on the winners' stand. As the season progressed, his pitching leadership was highly regarded, leading to increased playing time, especially after Hidaka's demotion to the farm team. On July 14, in a game against the Chiba Lotte Marines, he hit a bases-clearing triple with the bases loaded for the second time in his career, supporting starting pitcher Chihiro Kaneko's third consecutive shutout victory. He finished the season with a team-high 17 sacrifice bunts and played in 86 games, surpassing his previous year's total. It was later revealed that he played the latter half of the season with a fractured right thumb.

In 2011, Suzuki played in a career-high 89 games. On July 2, in a game against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, he hit his first career walk-off hit in his 14th professional season, securing a victory against Bryan Falkenborg. This hit contributed to the team's historic three consecutive walk-off victories, a first for the franchise, which also included walk-offs by Hisao Arakane on July 3 and Shogo Akada on July 5. On September 20, he suffered a nasal bone fracture (requiring four weeks for recovery) after being hit in the face by a throw during practice. Despite the injury, he continued to play for the remainder of the season due to the absence of Hikaru Ito, who was also injured. Suzuki led the team in games played as a catcher that year and maintained a batting average of .204. In August, he received the JA Zen-Noh Go-Go Award for the most caught stealings, although his overall caught stealing percentage for the season was 0.111%. In the offseason, he chose not to exercise his domestic FA rights and remained with the team, taking over the role of player association president from Mamoru Kishida.

The 2012 season saw Suzuki start on the first-team roster, sharing catching duties with Ito and Toshio Saito. However, he was demoted to the farm team on July 8, his first demotion in two years. He was re-promoted on August 25 but had limited opportunities, appearing in only three games with three at-bats for the rest of the season. He ended the year playing in 41 games, less than half of his previous season's total. Towards the end of the season, on October 3, the team informed him that he was not part of their plans for the following year and offered him a coaching position after the season. Suzuki expressed a desire to continue playing as a player-coach but on October 29, the club officially announced his retirement as a player and his appointment as the second-team battery coach.

5.1. Orix Buffaloes (2013-2020)

Following his retirement as a player in 2012, Suzuki immediately joined the Orix Buffaloes coaching staff. From 2013, he served as the second-team battery coach. On May 26, 2015, he was appointed as the first-team battery coach, replacing Daisuke Maeda. In 2016, he was reassigned to the second-team development coach role, but on April 28 of that year, he returned to the first-team battery coach position, switching with Takashi Miwa. On August 21, 2020, he was once again reassigned to a development coach role. His long tenure with the Orix Buffaloes concluded on November 5, 2020, when the team informed him that his coaching contract would not be renewed for the following season, along with second-team hitting coach Mitsutaka Goto.

5.2. KT Wiz (2021-2023)

On November 25, 2020, Suzuki signed a coaching contract with the KT Wiz of the KBO League in South Korea. For the 2021 season, he worked as a coach for the Futures (second team) and in the development department. In 2022, he took on the role of Futures battery coach. He concluded his coaching stint with the KT Wiz at the end of the 2023 season.

5.3. SSG Landers (2024-present)

In 2024, Fumihiro Suzuki moved to another KBO League team, joining the SSG Landers as a coach. He currently serves as a battery coach for the SSG Landers.

6.1. Annual Batting Statistics

6.2. Annual Fielding Statistics

6.3. Awards and Honors

• JA Zen-Noh Go-Go Award (Most Caught Stealing Award: August 2011)

6.4. Career Milestones and Records

• First appearance: October 9, 1998, vs. Yokohama DeNA BayStars, 25th game (at Yokohama Stadium), entering as catcher in the 8th inning in relief of Eiichi Nakano.
• First at-bat: October 10, 1998, vs. Yokohama DeNA BayStars, 27th game (at Yokohama Stadium), flying out to center field in the 9th inning against Michiya Yokoyama.
• First hit: October 11, 1998, vs. Yokohama DeNA BayStars, 28th game (at Yokohama Stadium), a double to center field in the 3rd inning against Kazuo Fukumori.
• First RBI: April 17, 1999, vs. Yomiuri Giants, 2nd game (at Tokyo Dome), a two-run RBI double to center field in the 9th inning against Takashi Kashiwada.
• First stolen base: April 22, 1999, vs. Tokyo Yakult Swallows, 6th game (at Meiji Jingu Stadium), stealing third base in the 8th inning (pitcher: Hiroto Kato, catcher: Atsuya Furuta).
• First home run: August 4, 2000, vs. Yokohama DeNA BayStars, 15th game (at Yokohama Stadium), a three-run home run to left field in the 3rd inning against Takashi Saito.

6.5. Uniform Numbers

• 38 (1998-2002)
• 44 (2003-2012)
• 82 (2013-2020)
• 88 (2021-2023)
• 83 (2024-present)