Ryota Imanari
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| Ryota Imanari | |
|---|---|
 Imanari with the Hanshin Tigers | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: October 6, 1987 | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
| NPB debut | |
| 2008, for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | |
| NPB statistics (through 2016) | |
| Batting average | .265 |
| Home runs | 6 |
| RBI | 68 |
| Teams | |
Ryota Imanari (今成 亮太, born October 6, 1987, in Fujimi, Saitama) is a Japanese former professional baseball infielder in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2008, 2010, and 2011, and for the Hanshin Tigers from 2012 to 2016.
Ryota started playing baseball even before he entered grade school. In junior high, he was also a member of the school's soccer club and even played in the Saitama Prefecture soccer tournament. He entered Urawa Gakuin, a high-school in Saitama known for its baseball team. In his second year, he was elected as team captain, and as a catcher led his team to participate in the Summer Koshien Tournament and the Spring Invitational Tournament.
He was the Fighter's 4th pick in the 2005 draft.
Nippon Ham Fighters
2006: In his rookie year, he played as a catcher in the team's farm league games, and participated in the Miyazaki Phoenix League during the latter half of the season.
2008: He appeared in his first ichi-gun game on the March 25 game with the Lions, and formed a battery with fellow rookie Akiyoshi Toyoshima during the 8th inning. His first hit as a pro came the next day when he pinch hit with the same team. On July 9, he appeared in the starting line-up for the first time in the game with the Chiba Lotte Marines, where he went 3-4 and recorded his first RBI.
2009–2010: His first-squad appearances decreased with the entry of Shota Ohno. He only appeared as a pinch-hitter once in 2010.
2011: He played in a total of 22 games. He was appointed as a pinch-hitter in 19 games, and played as catcher in 6 games.