Ikuhiro Kiyota

Ikuhiro Kiyota
Ikuhiro Kiyota
	Kiyota with the Chiba Lotte Marines
Free agent
	Outfielder
	Born: February 11, 1986; Kamagaya, Chiba, Japan
	Bats: Right Throws: Right
NPB debut
	May 24, 2010, for the Chiba Lotte Marines
NPB statistics ; (through 2020 season)
Batting average	.258
Hits	716
Home runs	58
RBI	333
Stolen Bases	36
Teams
	Chiba Lotte Marines (2010–2021);
Career highlights and awards
	1× Pacific League Best Nine Award (2015); 1× Pacific League Golden Glove Award (2015); 1× Japan Series champion (2010); 1× NPB All-Star (2015);

Ikuhiro Kiyota (清田育宏, born February 11, 1986) is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He has played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chiba Lotte Marines.

Professional career

Kiyota began his professional career in 2010 with the Chiba Lotte Marines. He made his NPB debut on May 24, 2010 and won the Japan Series with the club that year. In 2011, Kiyota batted .244/.293/.370 with 3 home runs and 25 RBI. The next year, he had improved production, batting .281/.363/.391 with 3 home runs and 29 RBI. He regressed a bit in 2013, batting .255/.359/.375 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI. He struggled in 2014, batting just .170/.316/.511 in 24 games. In 2015, Kiyota had a breakout season, slashing .317/.387/.503 with career-highs in home runs (15) and RBI (67). He was named a Pacfiic League All-Star, won a Gold Glove Award, and won a Pacific League Best Nine Award.[1]

Kiyota batted .225 with 6 home runs and 38 RBI on the year in 2016, but his production wavered the next year, as he hit only .203/.287/.286 with 3 home runs and 21 RBI. In 2018, Kiyota batted .226/.306/.295 with 2 home runs and 27 RBI. He improved the next year, posting a .253/.325/.378 batting line with 10 home runs and 57 RBI. In 2020, he continued to produce, hitting .278/.363/.467 with 7 home runs and 23 RBI in 70 games. On May 23, 2021, Kiyota was released by the Marines after he violated COVID-19 protocols in 2020 and had illicit relations with a woman after that.[2]

References

"Ikuhiro Kiyota Japanese Leagues Statistics & History".
@NPB_Reddit (23 May 2021). "The Chiba Lotte Marines announced that they have released Ikuhiro Kiyota. Kiyota violated the teams Covid19 protoco…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links

Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)

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[1] "Ikuhiro Kiyota Japanese Leagues Statistics & History".

[2] @NPB_Reddit (23 May 2021). "The Chiba Lotte Marines announced that they have released Ikuhiro Kiyota. Kiyota violated the teams Covid19 protoco…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.