Hikaru Kawase

Hikaru Kawase
Kawase with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – No. 0
Infielder
Born: (1997-09-15) September 15, 1997 (age 27)
Ōita, Ōita, Japan
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
NPB debut
May 23, 2018, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
NPB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.221
Home runs0
RBI39
Hits111
Stolen base9
Sacrifice bunt38
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Hikaru Kawase (川瀬 晃, Kawase Hikaru, born September 15, 1997) is a Japanese Professional baseball Infielder for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Early baseball career

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Kawase participated in the 1st grade summer 95th Japanese High School Baseball Championship with Shunsuke Kasaya and Masato Morishita at the Ōita Prefectural Ōita Commercial High School.[1] He had a rivalry with Morishita, who competed for pitcher and shortstop positions in high school.[2]

Professional career

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On October 22, 2015, Kawase was drafted by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the 2015 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.

On January 5, 2016, He underwent surgery for a broken left hand.[3]

In 2016-2017 season, he played in the Western League of NPB's minor leagues and played in informal matches against Shikoku Island League Plus's teams.

On May 23, 2018, Kawase debuted as a shortstop against the Saitama Seibu Lions.[4] On the 24th of the following day, he recorded his first hit.[5] And he was selected as the Japan Series roster in the 2018 Japan Series.[6]

In the 2019 season, Kawase finished the regular season in 29 games with a batting average of .176.

In 2020 season, Kawase finished the regular season in 70 games with a batting average of .191, a RBI of 6 runs and a stolen base of 2. Kawase was selected as the Japan Series roster in the 2020 Japan Series. And he recorded his first hit in the Japan Series.[7]

September 20, 2021, he was named a starter against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and recorded three hits.[8] However, he did not get many chances and finished the 2021 season with a .185 batting average in 21 games played.[9]

On July 18, 2022, Kawase would record a two-run double against the Chiba Lotte Marines.[10] On August 18, he was removed from the first team registration with a positive COVID-19, but was re-registered on September 3.[11] On September 12 against the Saitama Seibu Lions he started the seventh inning on defense and recorded a two-run double.[12] In 2022 season, he finished the regular season with a .278 batting average, 11 runs batted in, and 2 stolen bases in 73 games, his highest number of appearances despite being used as an infield reserve.

In 2023 season, Kawase played in a career-high 102 games, and finished the season with a .236 batting average, a 15 RBI, a 2stolen bases, and a 18 sacrifice bunts.

On December 13, 2023, announced that his uniform number would be changed from 00 to 0.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Nishinippon Shimbun baseball news (Japanese) 3年前エースだった兄の分まで…大分商の大型ショート森下、明豊にリベンジへ/夏の高校野球 大分大会". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). June 21, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  2. ^ "Weekly baseball ONLINE (Japanese) ソフトバンク6位・川瀬晃 スカウト評価は"川崎二世"". BASEBALL MAGAZINE SHA Co., Ltd (in Japanese). November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  3. ^ "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク6位川瀬晃が左手手術 転倒し骨折". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). January 5, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  4. ^ "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク川瀬4の0ほろ苦デビュー「空回り」". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). May 23, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  5. ^ "Nishinippon Shimbun baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク川瀬はにかむプロ初安打 前日2併殺打…同郷の先輩が記念球キープ". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). May 24, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  6. ^ "Nippon Professional Baseball (Japanese) SMBC日本シリーズ2018 出場資格者名簿(福岡ソフトバンクホークス)". NPB.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  7. ^ "Fukuoka Softbank Hawks Geme report (Japanese) 2020/11/22(日) 第2戦 巨人 vs 福岡ソフトバンク". Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site (in Japanese). November 22, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  8. ^ "Nishinippon Sports baseball news ソフトバンク川瀬、期待に応える遊撃スタメン 工藤監督「大きかった」". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). September 20, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  9. ^ "Nishinippon Sports baseball news ソフトバンク川瀬は100万円減で更改 結婚発表で「来年こそやってやる」". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). December 6, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  10. ^ "Nishinippon Sports baseball news 劇的V打の川瀬晃は「腹をくくった」 直前に長谷川勇也コーチがかけた言葉とは". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). July 18, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  11. ^ "Nishinippon Sports baseball news 試合途中で福岡へ〝帰省〟 中村晃&川瀬、1軍昇格の準備はOK". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). September 3, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  12. ^ "Nishinippon Sports baseball news 「先輩方がつくってくれたチャンス」途中出場の川瀬晃が貴重な2点二塁打". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). September 12, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  13. ^ "Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks press release 2023/12/13 (水) プレスリリース 背番号の変更について". Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site (in Japanese). December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
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