After being away from the field for a month,with a left ring finger sprain, Seiya Suzuki was finally ready to start his rehab in Iowa, alongside the Triple-A franchise of the Chicago Cubs, the Iowa Cubs.
Alongside the shortstop 4x gold glove winner award, Andrelton Simmons, the 27 years old japanese right fielder Seiya Suzuki was the big signing from the Chicago Cubs this season. Suzuki signed a five-year, $85-million contract with the Cubs.
Cubs, OF Seiya Suzuki reportedly agree to 5-year deal, per @Feinsand. https://t.co/D7iJL1GNwu pic.twitter.com/zpHRHgnmY6
— MLB (@MLB) March 16, 2022
Who is Seiya Suzuki?
Seyia Suzuki is a 27 years old japanese baseball player who was born on August 18 1994. Before leaving Japan to join the MLB, Suzuki played 9 seasons in his country Japan, in the Nippon Professional Baseball League ( NPB ) for the Hiroshima Toyo Carps. Suzuki is 5-11 and weighs 182lbs.
He wears number 27 in honour of Mike Trout, who is his favorite player. When drafted in 2012, Suzuki was mainly a pitcher during is high school career, but then switched to an infielder.
Nowadays, Suzuki can play in any of the 3 positions in the outfield ( Left Fielder, Center Fielder or Right Fielder) even though his main position is Right Fielder. He can also play the Third Baseman and the Shortstop positions in the Infield.
Suzuki is a five-time NPB All Star and a six-time NPB Best Nine Awards, which is an award, awarded anually to the best player in each position in both the Central and Pacific leagues in the Japanese Baseball League. That award is determined by journalists.
Suzuki is also a five-time NPB Golden Glove award winner, which is an award, awarded to nin
e fielders in the league. The winners are selected based on votes by TV, Radio and newspaper journalists with over 5 years of experience covering professional japanese baseball.
During those 9 seasons in Japan Suzuki appeared in 902 games batting a combined .315 with 182 Home Runs and 562 RBI.
Get to know the newest @Cubs OF, Seiya Suzuki. pic.twitter.com/4PjsC9UTcn
— MLB (@MLB) March 18, 2022
How has Suzuki been doing in the MLB so far?
During the Spring Training Suzuki had 2 Home Runs, 4 Hits batting .235 . In his first season playing in the MLB and before the injury, Suzuki appeared in 41 games batting a combine .245 with 4 Home Runs and 21 RBI. Suzuki is only the second japanese player to have achieved a 8 game hit streak to begin his MLB career, tying the record from Akinori Iwamura in 2008. For the cubs, Suzuki is only the third player in the last 100 years to start his career with a 8 game hit streak, joining Andy Pafko and Joe Munson.
Seiya Suzuki was named the National League Rookie of the Month for the month of April, and also won the award for the National League Player of the Week on the 17 of April, but then went on injuring himself on May 26 against the Cincinnati Reds and was placed on the 10-days injured list.
Seiya Suzuki and @MrLapara have been unstoppable to start the year.
They are your @Chevrolet Players of the Week! pic.twitter.com/t19DEfKdCI
— MLB (@MLB) April 18, 2022
How did Suzuki injure himself?
Suzuki injured himself stealing the second base against the Cincinnati Reds. He injured the finger on his left hand while sliding into second base on May 26 against the Reds. David Ross, the Cubs manager, said that Suzuki really wanted to play, and that the team took that into consideration, but the injury was still bothering him quite a lot. During the stretch of his injury, the Cubs won 13 games and lost 23.
Seiya Suzuki was scratched from the starting lineup due to right ankle soreness.
He will be available off the bench. New #Cubs lineup: pic.twitter.com/hGG1a36HIb
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 11, 2022
Seiza Suzuki Rehab At The Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa and were founded in 1969. The team was first known as the Iowa Oaks on their founding in 1969, but in 1982 they became the Iowa Cubs. Suzuki joined some of the Chicago Cubs hot prospects who are still playing in the Triple-A such as Brennen Davis or Caleb Kilian.
He also played alongside Clint Jackson Frazier who has played for the New York Yankees ( 2017 – 2021 ) and for the Cubs in the MLB. The pitchers Marcus Stroman and Drew Smyly are also rehabbing in the Iowa Cubs, and infielder Frank Schwindel should be the next to join Iowa to rehab.
Suzuki went on rehabbing and played some rehabilitation games with the Iowa Cubs before making a comeback to the Chicago Cubs more than 1 month after he was placed on the Injured List with a left-ring finger sprain.
Big shocker here. Seiya Suzuki is your @EMCInsurance Player of the Game. pic.twitter.com/7KZGEopOSl
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) July 1, 2022
Suzuki returns after Injury
Seiya Suzuki made his return to the Chicago Cubs on the 4th of July against the Milwaukee Brewers where he went 2 for 4 with a Home Run. The Cubs went on losing that game 5-2.
The Cubs then won the game on the 5th of July, where Suzuki scored an inside-the-park Home Run and registered 2 Hits and 3 RBI. After his return from Injury, Suzuki is now batting .272 with 8 Home Runs and 29 RBI.
Happy birthday, @suzuki_seiya_sb!
誠也さん、お誕生日おめでとうございます。 pic.twitter.com/um7SoUbwHk
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 18, 2022
Credits on Featured Image: Jtwya, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
