Ryo Akiyoshi
# Ryo Akiyoshi

Ryo Akiyoshi (秋吉 亮, Akiyoshi Ryō, born 21 March 1989 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

## Professional career

### Tokyo Yakult Swallows

On 24 October 2013, Akiyoshi was drafted by the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.

On 1 April 2014, Akiyoshi debuted in the Central League against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp as a starting pitcher. On Mayl 13, he pitched against the Yomiuri Giants and recorded his first win.

During the 2014-2018 season with the Swallows, he contributed to the team as a setup man. In all, he pitched in 283 games with a 19–17 Win–loss record, a 2.68 ERA, a 67 Holds, a 34 Saves, and a and a 274 strikeouts in 298.2 innings.

On 16 July 2016, Akiyoshi was named an All-Star and pitched in the 2016 Mazda All-Star Game 2016.

### Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

11 December 2018, Akiyoshi and Ryota Yachi were transferred to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in a 2-2 trade with Hirotoshi Takanashi and Kengo Ohta.

On 12 April 2019, he recorded his first save since joining the Fighters.

Akiyoshi played the 2019-2021 seasons with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, he contributed to the team as a Closer. In all, he pitched in 96 games with a 1–6 Win–loss record, a 4.04 ERA, a 11 Holds, a 37 Saves, and a and a 84 strikeouts in 91.1 innings.

On 16 November 2021, he elected free agency following the 2021 season.

### Fukui Nexus Elephants

On 31 January 2022, Akiyoshi signed with the Fukui Nexus Elephants of the independent league Nihonkai OCEAN League.

He recorded 18 Games pitched, a 1–2 Win–loss record, a 2.66 ERA, a 7 Saves, and a 35 strikeouts in 20.1innings.

### Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

On 19 July 2022, Akiyoshi signed with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. On 3 August, he made his debut as a pitcher for the Hawks. He pitched in only two games in the Pacific League in the 2022 season.

On 17 October 2022, the Hawks announced he was a free agent.

## International career

On 15 February 2016, Akiyoshi represented the Japan national baseball team at the Samurai Japan Warm-up Game Japan vs Chinese Taipei.

24 January 2017, he was elected to the Japan national baseball team at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

