Teruaki Satō

1.1. Early Life and Elementary School

Satō began playing baseball in the first grade for the Kōtō Blue Thunders, a little league team associated with Kōtō Elementary School. In his sixth grade, he was selected to play for the Hanshin Tigers Juniors team, an elite youth squad.

1.2. Junior High School

During his time at Kōryō Junior High School, Satō joined the school's soft baseball club. He primarily played as a pitcher and catcher. Despite his involvement in baseball, Satō's interest in the sport waned during junior high, and he considered joining the soccer club before a friend persuaded him to continue with baseball.

1.3. High School

Satō attended Nigawa High School, where he continued his baseball career. His team's best performance was reaching the fourth round of the Hyogo Prefectural Tournament during his second year, and they did not qualify for any national tournaments at Koshien Stadium. By the end of his second year, he had only hit five home runs. To improve his hitting power, he began serious weight training in the fall of his second year. This dedication paid off significantly, as he hit 15 home runs in his third year alone, bringing his high school career total to 20. Despite his improved performance, he was not scouted by any NPB teams. However, his talent caught the attention of Kinki University's baseball coach, Hideaki Tanaka, who invited him to enroll. Satō decided to attend Kinki University's junior college, with the intention of transferring to the four-year university in his third year, as the sports scholarship slots for the university were already filled.

2.1. Amateur National Team Selections

In the summer of his sophomore year, Satō was selected to represent Japan in two international amateur competitions: the 2018 Haarlem Baseball Week and the USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series.

3.1. Draft and Contract

On October 26, 2020, Teruaki Satō was a highly sought-after prospect in the 2020 Nippon Professional Baseball draft. He was the first-round draft pick for four teams: the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Orix Buffaloes, Yomiuri Giants, and his hometown team, the Hanshin Tigers. Hanshin Tigers manager Akihiro Yano drew the winning ticket, securing Satō for the team. Satō signed a contract worth 100.00 M JPY with the Tigers, which included a 50.00 M JPY signing bonus and an estimated annual salary of 16.00 M JPY. He was assigned jersey number 8, a number previously worn by prominent players like Kosuke Fukudome.

3.2. 2021 Season

Satō had a remarkable rookie season in 2021. In pre-season exhibition games, he broke the NPB rookie home run record by hitting six, surpassing Kyosuke Sasaki's 1972 record of five. This performance earned him a spot in the season-opening game against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on March 26. He recorded his first professional hit and home run, a two-run shot, in the second game of the season on March 27. On April 1, he became the first rookie in Central League history to hit home runs in consecutive opening series. By April 27, his seventh home run tied the record for most home runs by a rookie by the end of April, a record previously held by Shuichi Murata (2003).

On May 2, filling in for an injured Yūsuke Ōyama, Satō started as the cleanup hitter and third baseman, becoming the sixth Hanshin rookie to start as a cleanup hitter. In this game, he recorded five RBIs, including his first career grand slam, which was also the first grand slam by a rookie cleanup hitter in NPB history. This propelled him to the top of the team leaderboard in both home runs (9) and RBIs (24). On May 7, in his 33rd game, Satō hit his 10th home run, becoming the fastest drafted NPB rookie to reach double-digit homers (33 games), breaking the previous record of 36 games. He also became the first Hanshin rookie left-handed batter to hit double-digit home runs. On May 28, he hit three home runs in a single game against the Saitama Seibu Lions, becoming the first rookie in 63 years to achieve this feat since Shigeo Nagashima in 1958. His third home run was a crucial go-ahead three-run shot in the ninth inning. For his outstanding performance in May (batting .301 with 6 home runs and 19 RBIs), he was named the Central League Monthly MVP, becoming only the second rookie position player in the Central League to receive this award (since Murata in 2003) and the first in Hanshin Tigers history.

On June 6, Satō hit his fifth interleague home run, setting a new rookie record for interleague home runs, which he further extended to six on June 11. He also tied the rookie record for interleague RBIs with 12. However, Satō also experienced significant struggles, including a game on July 4 where he struck out five times, tying an NPB record for a single game and becoming the first Central League rookie position player to do so. By July 14, he had accumulated 121 strikeouts, tying the rookie single-season strikeout record held by Kosuke Fukudome (1999) in just 84 games.

Satō was selected to the All-Star Game as the first rookie in history to receive the most fan votes in the Central League. In Game 2 on July 17, he hit a solo home run and received the Fighting Spirit Award. After the Olympic break, on August 13, he broke the rookie single-season strikeout record. On August 17, he hit his 21st home run, breaking Hiroshi Ohshita's 75-year-old record for most home runs by a rookie left-handed batter. Two days later, on August 19, his 23rd home run broke Koichi Tabuchi's 52-year-old Hanshin Tigers rookie home run record.

However, Satō entered a prolonged slump, going 54 consecutive plate appearances without a hit by September 29, setting a new NPB record for a non-pitcher in a single season. This streak extended to 59 consecutive hitless plate appearances, tying the position player record held by Yoshifumi Okada, before he finally broke it with a single on October 5. On October 24, he hit his 24th home run of the season, which was also his 100th career hit. He finished the season with a .238 batting average, 24 home runs (team high), and a league-leading 173 strikeouts, which was the sixth-highest in NPB history and a Hanshin Tigers single-season record. Following the season, his salary was increased to an estimated 42.00 M JPY. On December 15, he received the Rookie Special Award alongside fellow rookies Masashi Ito and Takumu Nakano.

3.3. 2022 Season

In 2022, Satō started the season as the cleanup hitter and right fielder on March 25, becoming the youngest player in Hanshin Tigers history to start as the opening day cleanup hitter. On May 18, he hit his 10th home run of the season, marking his second consecutive year with double-digit home runs since his rookie season. This was a Hanshin Tigers record, previously achieved by Akinobu Okada in 1980 and 1981. On July 13, he recorded his 50th RBI of the season, making him the third player in Hanshin history (after Betto Kaoru in 1949 and Akinobu Okada in 1981) and the first left-handed batter to achieve 50 RBIs in consecutive seasons from their rookie year. On August 26, he played second base for the first time in his professional career during a game against the Chunichi Dragons. He played in all 143 games of the season. While his home run count slightly decreased to 20, his batting average improved from .238 to .264, his RBIs increased from 64 to 84, and his hits from 101 to 143. Crucially, his strikeout total decreased from 173 to 137, indicating significant improvement in his plate discipline. On December 1, he signed a new contract with an estimated annual salary of 85.00 M JPY, more than doubling his previous salary.

3.4. 2023 Season

Satō faced a batting slump early in the 2023 season, leading to him being occasionally benched. However, he gradually regained his form. On May 14, against the DeNA BayStars, he hit a three-run home run and his second career grand slam in the same game, achieving a career-high seven RBIs. On May 19, he hit the Hanshin Tigers' 8,000th home run in the two-league era against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Despite these highlights, his struggles continued, and on June 25, he was demoted to the minor league team for the first time since September 10, 2021.

He returned to the first team on July 5. Although his slump persisted initially, he began to improve during the summer, a period where he had traditionally struggled. On August 12, he hit his first career walk-off hit, a sacrifice fly, in the 12th inning against the Yakult Swallows, securing a victory for the Tigers. On August 3, he reached 200 career RBIs, becoming the first Hanshin Tigers player in the draft era to achieve this milestone in their third year. In September, on the 8th against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, he hit a home run at Koshien, marking his 10th home run at the stadium for the season, a feat not achieved by a homegrown Hanshin left-handed batter since Masayuki Kakefu in 1985. This home run also brought his career total to 62, surpassing Koichi Tabuchi's Hanshin Tigers record of 61 home runs for a player within their first three years. Furthermore, he achieved 100 hits for the third consecutive year, and together with his draft classmate Takumu Nakano, they became the first pair of同期 (same draft class) players in NPB history to achieve 100 hits in three consecutive seasons from their rookie year.

On September 13, he hit his second grand slam of the season against the Yomiuri Giants. The following day, September 14, he hit his 20th home run of the season, making him the first left-handed batter in NPB history to hit 20 home runs in three consecutive seasons from their rookie year, and the first Hanshin player to do so since Akinobu Okada in 1982. On September 16, he recorded his first career four-hit game. On October 1, in the second-to-last game of the season, he hit his 23rd home run and drove in four runs, reaching a career-high 90 RBIs for the season. This was the first time a Hanshin player had achieved 90+ RBIs since Mauro Gomez in 2014, and the first homegrown player since Takashi Toritani in 2010. For his exceptional performance in September and October (batting .356 with 9 home runs and 29 RBIs), he received the Monthly JERA Central League Award, the Hanshin Tigers DID Award (Monthly and Annual Grand Prize), and his second career Monthly MVP award.

3.5. 2024 Season

The 2024 season began with Satō struggling at the plate, batting .143 through the first six games. However, he hit his first home run of the season on April 5 against the Yakult Swallows in the 10th inning, a powerful shot that ended a tied game. The next day, he hit his second consecutive game-winning home run against the same team. On April 9, he recorded his 100th career multi-hit game against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. On April 18, he hit his first career walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning against the Yomiuri Giants.

On May 14, during a game against the Chunichi Dragons, Satō made a crucial error while fielding a bunt in the eighth inning, which led to a loss. The following day, he was removed from the active roster. He returned to the first team on June 7. On June 11, he recorded his 500th career strikeout against Ryōhei Sotani of the Orix Buffaloes. On August 6, he hit a two-run home run, marking his first career three-game home run streak and tying a Hanshin Tigers record for 11 consecutive games with a run scored (held by Randy Bass in 1986 and Tomoaki Kanemoto in 2003). On August 21, he hit his 10th home run of the season, becoming the third player in Hanshin Tigers history (after Koichi Tabuchi and Akinobu Okada) to hit double-digit home runs in four consecutive seasons from their rookie year. On September 5, he achieved another Hanshin Tigers record by becoming the first player in franchise history to record double-digit home runs and 100 hits in four consecutive seasons from their rookie year, surpassing Akinobu Okada's record. On September 6, he hit his 12th home run of the season, a grand slam, which brought his career RBI total to 301, making him the fastest player in Hanshin Tigers history to reach 300 career RBIs.

4.1. Defensive Skills

Satō demonstrates versatility in the field, having played primarily as an infielder (third base) and outfielder (left and right field), and even briefly at second base in 2022. His college coach, Hideaki Tanaka, praised his defensive abilities, noting his high-level footwork, glove handling, and arm strength. Despite these evaluations, Satō himself has been critical of his defensive skills, describing himself as "still unskilled" and actively engaging in training to improve. While he showed some defensive struggles early in the 2023 season with a higher number of errors, he later improved significantly, making several impressive plays.

4.2. Physical Attributes and Athleticism

Satō possesses a robust physique, measuring 74 in ^{(187 cm)} in height and weighing 212 lb ^{(96 kg)}. His athleticism is a key component of his playing style, evident in his speed (clocking 6.0 seconds in the 164 ft ^{(50 m)} dash) and arm strength (a long throw of 328 ft ^{(100 m)}). These physical traits enable his powerful hitting and versatile defensive capabilities.

5.1. Family Background

Satō grew up in a sports-oriented family. His father, Hiroshin Satō, is a former national judo champion. Teruaki has two younger brothers. His younger brother, Taiki, also played baseball as an infielder for Kwansei Gakuin University. Taiki submitted his name for the professional baseball draft in 2022 but was not selected. He later played for the Fukushima Red Hopes in the Baseball Challenge League before joining the Sakai Shuraikes in the Kansai Independent League in 2024.

5.2. Interests and Personality

Satō's interest in baseball was not always strong; he considered joining the soccer club in junior high before a friend convinced him to play baseball. He is an avid fan of the idol group Momoiro Clover Z, referring to himself as a "Mononofu" (their fan term). He particularly admires Reni Takagi, one of the group's members. His public declaration of fandom led Takagi to become a passionate Hanshin Tigers supporter, attending games and collecting team merchandise. Satō's home run celebration includes striking the "Z-pose," Momoiro Clover Z's signature pose.

He maintains a close friendship with Shugo Maki of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, whom he met during a university national team training camp in his junior year. They even held a joint Instagram Live session in 2021. Satō was also a classmate of Minami Koike of Sakurazaka46 during junior high. Despite being classmates, Koike always referred to him formally as "Satō-kun" or "Satō-san," even as others called him "Teru."

Yumiko Udo, a well-known Japanese freelance announcer and a devoted Hanshin Tigers fan, is a strong supporter of Satō, often affectionately calling him "TeruTeru." Satō is also a fan of the baseball manga series "Dokaben," with his favorite character being Tonoma Kazuto, known for his unique "secret hits." He is also a fan of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, particularly appreciating the concept of "ignorance of knowledge."

Satō has openly expressed his admiration for Major League Baseball (MLB) and harbors aspirations of playing there in the future. His interest in MLB is reflected in his batting form, home run celebrations, uniform style, and even his signature logo design. He has cited several MLB players as influences, including Bryce Harper, Freddie Freeman, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Manny Machado.

6.1. International Competitions

As a professional player, Teruaki Satō has represented Japan in international competitions. He was a member of the Japan national team that won the gold medal at the 2023 Asia Professional Baseball Championship.

7.1. Rookie Records and Milestones

• Open Season Home Run King:** 2021 (First rookie since Shigeo Nagashima in 1958, and first in Hanshin Tigers history).
• Interleague Play Home Runs:** 6 in 2021 (Rookie record).
• Interleague Play RBIs:** 12 in 2021 (Tied rookie record).
• Grand Slam in First Game as Cleanup Hitter:** May 2, 2021 (First rookie in NPB history).
• Three Home Runs in a Single Game:** May 28, 2021 (First rookie in 63 years since Shigeo Nagashima, and first in Hanshin Tigers history).
• Five Strikeouts in a Single Game:** July 4, 2021 (Tied NPB record, first Central League rookie position player).
• Single-Season Strikeouts:** 173 in 2021 (Tied 6th worst all-time in NPB, rookie record, Hanshin Tigers record).
• Single-Season Home Runs by a Left-Handed Rookie:** 24 in 2021 (NPB record, Hanshin Tigers rookie record).

7.2. Career Records and Milestones

• 100 Career Hits:** October 24, 2021.
• 500 Career Strikeouts:** June 11, 2024.
• 20+ Home Runs in Three Consecutive Seasons from Rookie Year:** 2021-2023 (Seventh player in NPB history, first left-handed batter in NPB history).
• 59 Consecutive Hitless Plate Appearances:** August 22 - October 3, 2021 (Tied for second-worst by a position player, worst in Central League, worst for a single season).
• All-Star Game Appearances:** 3 times (2021-2023). In 2021, he was the first rookie to receive the most fan votes in the Central League.
• 200 Career RBIs:** August 3, 2023 (Fastest in Hanshin Tigers draft era history for a player in their third year).
• 62 Career Home Runs in First Three Seasons:** September 8, 2023 (Broke Koichi Tabuchi's Hanshin Tigers record of 61).
• 100 Hits in Three Consecutive Seasons from Rookie Year:** 2021-2023 (First time in NPB history for a pair of players from the same draft class, with Takumu Nakano).
• 300 Career RBIs:** September 6, 2024 (Fastest in Hanshin Tigers history).
• 10+ Home Runs in Four Consecutive Seasons from Rookie Year:** 2021-2024 (Third player in Hanshin Tigers history after Koichi Tabuchi and Akinobu Okada).
• 100+ Hits in Four Consecutive Seasons from Rookie Year:** 2021-2024 (First player in Hanshin Tigers history to exceed Akinobu Okada's record).

7.3. Awards and Honors

• Central League Special Award:** 1 time (Rookie Special Award: 2021).
• Monthly MVP (Batter Division):** 2 times (May 2021, September/October 2023).
• Monthly JERA Central League Award:** 1 time (September/October 2023).
• All-Star Game Fighting Spirit Award:** 1 time (2021 Game 2).
• All-Star Game Mynavi Award:** 1 time (2021).
• Hanshin Tigers DID Award (Monthly Award):** 3 times (March/April 2022, September 2023, April 2024).
• Hanshin Tigers DID Award (Annual Grand Prize):** 2 times (2023, 2024).
• Asia Professional Baseball Championship Best Nine:** 1 time (2023).