Sohichiro Amaya

2.1.1. Minor League Development (2002-2006)

In his rookie year in 2002, Amaya played in the Ni-gun (minor league), where he struggled to hit, recording only 2 hits in 40 at-bats for a batting average of .050. However, he demonstrated good plate discipline by drawing 8 walks and recorded 2 stolen bases.

By 2003, his batting significantly improved, and he was designated as the lead-off hitter for the Ni-gun team. At one point, his batting average exceeded .400, and he led the league in hitting during the first half of the season. His average eventually dropped as opposing pitchers exploited his weakness against outside breaking balls. He finished the Ni-gun season with a .266 batting average, 6 home runs, and 27 stolen bases, earning him the Western League stolen base title. His high on-base percentage, exceeding .350, was a testament to his frequent walks.

In 2004, Amaya experimented with his batting stance, abandoning the "ippon-ashi" (one-leg stance) he had adopted during the previous off-season and returning to his original "suriashi" (sliding foot stance). He participated in his first Ichi-gun (major league) spring training camp but did not perform well in exhibition games, hitting only .133. On August 20, in his third year as a professional, he was promoted to the Ichi-gun team for the first time. However, he recorded no hits in 2 at-bats and no stolen bases, leading to his demotion back to Ni-gun on August 30. Upon his re-promotion, he made his first professional start on October 3 against the Hanshin Tigers, where he secured his first professional hit in his first at-bat. He also showcased his speed with an aggressive baserunning play to second base. In the Western League, he won his second consecutive stolen base title with 42 stolen bases, a remarkable 20 more than the second-place player. He also achieved personal bests in Ni-gun with a .297 batting average, 6 home runs, and a .401 on-base percentage.

Amaya's 2005 season was hampered by injuries. He suffered a left ankle ligament injury during the off-season and sprained it again during spring training, forcing him to start the season in Ni-gun. On June 14, he dislocated his right shoulder while sliding into second base during a Ni-gun game against the Chunichi Dragons. Due to these setbacks, he only appeared in 2 Ichi-gun games that season, while in Ni-gun he recorded a .258 batting average and 19 stolen bases (with 13 failed attempts).

In 2006, Amaya was promoted to Ichi-gun in May but was demoted back to Ni-gun after about a month. He was primarily used as a pinch runner but failed to record any stolen bases and had no hits in 8 at-bats. In Ni-gun, he achieved a career-high .366 on-base percentage and secured his third stolen base title with 24 stolen bases. His stolen base success rate also improved to 86%, indicating a refinement in his baserunning technique. However, his .252 batting average in Ni-gun was his lowest since his rookie year, and he hit no home runs.

2.1.2. Major League Breakthrough (2007-2012)

For the 2007 season, Amaya's uniform number was changed to 49. He hit his first professional home run on April 28 against the Hanshin Tigers. Although he briefly secured a starting position in the Ichi-gun team in May, he suffered a left shoulder injury while returning to base on a pickoff throw and did not return to Ichi-gun, finishing the season with 20 appearances.

In 2008, during spring training, manager Marty Brown highly praised Amaya's "talent, batting sense, and speed," expressing a strong desire to use him. Consequently, Amaya made his first Opening Day start on March 28 against the Chunichi Dragons as the lead-off hitter and center fielder. On April 5, he hit his first career walk-off hit against Takumi Nasuno of the Yokohama BayStars in the 10th inning of extra innings. By mid-April, he was remarkably leading the league in batting average, showcasing significant improvement in his hitting. His outfield defense, which had previously been prone to errors, also saw substantial improvement, allowing his wide defensive range to be fully utilized. He formed a formidable and reliable outfield alongside Masato Akamatsu, who had transferred from the Hanshin Tigers. Although he fell just three at-bats short of qualifying for the batting title, and his average dropped to .263, he appeared in a career-high 135 games, marking a definitive breakthrough season. After his walk-off hit on April 5, he famously told fans in a hero interview, "Drink delicious sake and come to the stadium tomorrow!" The following day, after another hero interview with Masayuki Hasegawa, he humorously advised fans to "limit your alcohol since tomorrow is Monday and you have work."

Amaya started the 2009 opening day game on April 3 as the 8th batter and right fielder. His performance was slow in April, but he significantly improved in May, maintaining a .400 batting average while batting third. He provided a strong offensive presence for a team that was struggling with a batting average in the low .200s. However, on May 13, he fractured his right hamate bone while hitting a foul ball against the Hanshin Tigers, leading to a long-term absence. Demonstrating remarkable recovery, he returned to live game action in the minor league after only 49 days and rejoined the Ichi-gun team on July 15 against the Yokohama BayStars as the 3rd batter and right fielder. Despite being limited to 94 games due to the injury, falling short of qualifying plate appearances, he achieved his first career .300 batting average, 5 home runs, and 41 RBIs.

In 2010, Amaya recorded the third-best batting average in open games at .396, earning him a starting spot as the 3rd batter and center fielder. However, once the regular season began, he fell into a severe batting slump, with his average fluctuating between the high .100s and low .200s. He frequently lost his starting position to the in-form Akamatsu and Jun Hirose. While he showed some recovery in the second half, his first-half struggles resulted in a .245 batting average for the season. On April 28 against the Yokohama BayStars, he recorded 4 stolen bases in one game, a feat not achieved by a Carp player since Kozo Shoda in 1989. On August 27 against the Yomiuri Giants, he hit a game-winning, go-ahead 3-run home home run in the 11th inning of extra innings against Takahiko Nomaguchi. Despite these impactful plays, he never fully established himself as a permanent regular, often platooned with Akamatsu depending on the opposing pitcher's handedness. On August 22 against the Yokohama BayStars, he made a spectacular defensive play in the 8th inning, running up the 5.9 ft ^{(1.8 m)} outfield fence (approximately 5.9 ft) to make a backward-bending catch on a home run-bound ball hit by Brett Harper off pitcher Yuuki Saito. Saito, who had believed it was a home run, was visibly surprised by the catch. Amaya later stated that he was "very conscious" of a similar significant play made by his teammate Akamatsu on August 4 (also against Saito, with Shuichi Murata as the batter). A doll mimicking Amaya climbing the fence for a home run catch, titled "Gekitotsu! Amaya-kun" (Crash! Amaya-kun), displayed at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima, was featured on Nippon TV's sports news shortly after his catch. Subsequently, Fumakilla, which had an advertisement directly below the fence Amaya climbed, sent him products like Vape and medicated hand soap. Similarly, Takaki Bakery, whose advertisement was on the fence Akamatsu climbed, sent Akamatsu an assortment of bread.

In 2011, Amaya suffered a batting slump from the start of the season, with his average falling to the .100s in May, which led to a demotion to Ni-gun. Although he seemed to recover after returning to Ichi-gun in June, his performance declined again in the summer months, and he was primarily used as a pinch hitter, pinch runner, or defensive substitute, finishing the season with a disappointing .210 batting average. On December 27, he publicly announced his marriage to Kanako Tsuboyama, an announcer for Hiroshima Home Television.

Amaya started the 2012 season in Ni-gun due to poor form but was promoted to Ichi-gun in May. He gradually improved in June, recording a 16-game hitting streak and a monthly batting average of .373, which briefly raised his overall average to .327. From mid-June, he was consistently used as the lead-off hitter, and on June 17, he hit a first-pitch lead-off home run against Takaaki Hishida of the Seibu Lions at Seibu Dome, providing a significant boost to the team. Along with the in-form cleanup hitter Takahiro Iwamoto, he was a driving force behind the team's rise to third place in the standings. He maintained a batting average over .300 until July but slumped from August onwards, seeing his batting order drop to 5th or 7th, and occasionally being benched against left-handed starting pitchers. Nevertheless, he hit an inside-the-park home run on August 25 against the Hanshin Tigers, which was the first for the Carp in 20 years. He also recorded a game-winning walk-off hit (officially recorded as a hit and an outfielder's error) in the bottom of the 9th inning on September 27 against the Yomiuri Giants. He finished the season with a .264 batting average, outperforming his statistics from the previous two years.

2.1.3. Injuries and Later Career (2013-2017)

The 2013 season saw Amaya frequently moving between the Ichi-gun and Ni-gun teams, resulting in his appearing in a career-low 34 games since becoming a regular player. He also went hitless in home runs for the first time in seven years, since 2006, and suffered a batting slump with a .208 average. In Ni-gun, he played 75 games, batting .289 with 3 home runs.

On June 14, 2014, with the team on an 8-game losing streak, Amaya was registered for Ichi-gun for the first time that season after Ryuhei Matsuyama, who had been accompanying the team as a left-handed hitting right fielder since opening day, injured his left knee the previous day. He returned as the lead-off hitter and right fielder against the Chiba Lotte Marines that day, hitting a single in his first at-bat. On June 15, he hit a lead-off home run, his first in two years, helping the team break its losing streak. He followed this with more lead-off home runs against the Yomiuri Giants on July 2 and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars on August 20. Although he lost his starting position to players like Shota Dobayashi, Seiya Suzuki, and the returning Matsuyama from August onwards, he proved effective as a left-handed pinch hitter, with a .333 pinch-hit batting average and a .440 pinch-hit on-base percentage.

In 2015, Amaya played fewer games than the previous year, appearing in 30 games with a .214 batting average, 2 RBIs, and 3 stolen bases. He was removed from the roster on May 21 and did not appear in Ichi-gun again that season. On April 7, in a game against the Giants, while playing left field as a defensive substitute in the 9th inning with a one-run lead, he dropped a fly ball hit by Yoshiyuki Kamei due to wind interference, allowing the runner to advance to second. This play led to Hirokazu Ibata hitting a timely single, tying the game, which the team eventually lost. He committed several defensive errors that season.

Amaya made the opening day Ichi-gun roster in 2016. In the second game, playing as the 7th batter and right fielder, he hit a game-winning RBI in his third at-bat, contributing to the team's first victory of the season. Although he continued to get starting opportunities and delivered winning hits, his good form did not last, and he was removed from the roster on June 5. He spent the rest of the season shuttling between Ichi-gun and Ni-gun, finishing with 55 appearances. Despite being used as a pinch hitter 30 times (in 24 at-bats), he failed to record any hits, and apart from his initial hot streak where he hit three game-winning RBIs, he struggled with a batting slump, ending the season with a .175 average.

In 2017, Amaya played 56 games, batting .189 with 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

2.1.4. Retirement (2018)

On September 27, 2018, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp club officially announced Amaya's retirement from professional baseball. His retirement game was held on October 4 at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima against the Yomiuri Giants. He started as the lead-off hitter and center fielder, facing Tomoyuki Sugano in the bottom of the first inning. He grounded out to the catcher, concluding his professional playing career.