Former SF Giants outfielder set to retire after season after long and successful pro career

Former SF Giants outfielder Nori Aoki is set to hang up his cleats at the end of the year. The Yomiuri Shimbun confirmed that the longtime pro outfielder will retire at the end of the NPB season.

Former SF Giants outfielder set to retire after season after long and successful pro career

Aoki's pro career began as a 24-year-old outfielder with the Yakult Swallows of the NPB in 2004. As a rookie, he tallied three hits in 15 at-bats before becoming a mainstay in the Swallows' lineup for the better part of the next decade.

The left-handed bat came stateside to join the Milwaukee Brewers in 2012 and did what he does quite well: hit. During his six-year career in the majors, he proved to be a consistent hitter. Aoki posted a career .738 OPS, but impressively, his batting average ranged from .277 to .288 in the majors. The low range between outcomes highlights that he was just a pretty consistent hitter.

The veteran bat joined the Giants for one season in 2015. It was more of the same as he slashed .287/.353/.380 with more walks (30) than strikeouts (25). It is a shame he only spent one season with the Giants because he was a joy to watch hit.

Oddly enough, Aoki played with the Kansas City Royals and Giants in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Those teams won the World Series in those years, but he was not on the winning end with either team. His team lost to the Giants in the 2014 season and San Francisco did not reach the playoff in 2015.

Aoki's major league career concluded after the 2017 season after spending time with the Brewers, Royals, Giants, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, and New York Mets. He returned to the Swallows for the remainder of his career.

In 15 NPB seasons, he registered a .313/.392/.444 line while flashing occasional power and proving to be a tough hitter to strike out. Every good lineup needs a hitter like that to keep the line moving. Split between the majors and the NPB, Aoki has tallied 2,723 career hits. That is an impressive number.

We at Around The Foghorn would like to congratulate Aoki on a long and successful career and would like to wish him luck in the next chapter of his life.