List of Nippon Professional Baseball players to hit for the cycle

In baseball, completing the cycle is the accomplishment of hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle", which has occurred five times in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The cycle itself is rare in NPB, occurring 76 times since Fumio Fujimura's first cycle during the single league era in 1948. In terms of frequency, the cycle is roughly as common as a no-hitter (90 occurrences in NPB history); Baseball Digest calls it "one of the rarest feats in baseball". Hitting for the cycle was not recognized in Japanese professional baseball until former Major League Baseball (MLB) player Daryl Spencer made a remark about it after hitting for the cycle with the Hankyu Braves in 1965. Of the 12 current NPB teams, only the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles have never had at least one player hit for the cycle.

The most cycles hit by a player in Nippon Professional Baseball is three, accomplished by Bobby Rose. Playing for the Yokohama BayStars, Rose hit his first cycle on May 2, 1995, the next on April 29, 1997, and his final cycle on June 30, 1999. Other than Rose, only three other NPB players have hit multiple cycles: Fumio Fujimura with the Osaka Tigers and Hiromi Matsunaga with the Hankyu/Orix Braves and Kosuke Fukudome with the Chunichi Dragons and the Hanshin Tigers, all with two. Fujimura is also the only player to have hit a cycle during both the single league era and the current dual league era. The 2003 NPB season saw the most cycles hit in a single season—five. That season also saw the only instance of cycles occurring in two different games on the same day: on July 1, hit by Atsunori Inaba of the Yakult Swallows and Arihito Muramatsu of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. The next day, Shinjiro Hiyama became the third player to hit for the cycle in two days. Conversely, the longest period of time between two players hitting for the cycle is one day shy of 6 years. The drought has lasted from Michihiro Ogasawara's cycle in 2008 until Rainel Rosario's in 2014.

No player has ever hit a cycle in both the Central and Pacific Leagues; however, after Alex Ochoa hit his cycle with the Dragons on April 13, 2004, he became the only player to hit a cycle in both MLB and NPB. Ochoa hit his first and only cycle in the MLB eight years prior on July 3, 1996, while playing for the New York Mets. Swallows catcher Atsuya Furuta is the only player to hit for the cycle in an NPB All-Star game, hitting one in game 2 of the 1992 series. Furuta's cycle is not considered an official NPB cycle as it occurred during an exhibition game. Inaba is the only player to hit for the cycle in a rain-shortened game. After hitting a triple in the first inning and hitting a home run in the fourth, Inaba collected the other two necessary hits in a seven-run fifth inning when the order batted around. Six players achieved their cycles by acquiring a required hit during extra innings. Kosuke Fukudome is the only player to have hit a grand slam as the home run of the cycle. Hiroshi Ohshita and Kazuhiko Kondo are the only two players to have hit a walk-off home run to win the game as the final hit of their cycles.

Cycles by player + Key to symbols in player tableInducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and MuseumDenotes a natural cycleIndicates that a hit required for the cycle was acquired during extra inningsNumber of cycles recorded to that point (if the player recorded more than one)

+ Nippon Professional Baseball players who have hit for the cycle, the date of its occurrence, team, league, and opponent No. Player Date Team League Opponent Stadium Ref 1 Osaka Tigers Japanese Baseball League Kinsei Stars Koshien Stadium 2 Osaka Tigers Japanese Baseball League Nankai Hawks Korakuen Stadium 3 * Osaka Tigers Central League Hiroshima Carp Koshien Stadium 4 Taiyo Whales Central League Chunichi Dragons Korakuen Stadium 5 Hankyu Braves Pacific League Mainichi Orions Kawasaki Stadium 6 Tokyu Flyers Pacific League Kintetsu Pearls Kawasaki Stadium 7 Daiei Stars Pacific League Tokyu Flyers Kawasaki Stadium 8 Hiroshima Carp Central League Kokutetsu Swallows Korakuen Stadium 9 Taiyo Shochiku Robins Central League Yomiuri Giants Korakuen Stadium 10 Nagoya Dragons Central League Yomiuri Giants Korakuen Stadium 11 Nishitetsu Lions Pacific League Hankyu Braves Heiwadai Stadium 12 Yomiuri Giants Central League Hiroshima Carp Shikishima Stadium 13 Nankai Hawks Pacific League Tombo Unions Kawasaki Stadium 14 Toei Flyers Pacific League Kintetsu Pearls Komazawa Baseball Stadium 15 Hankyu Braves Pacific League Kintetsu Pearls Osaka Stadium 16 Mainichi Orions Pacific League Nankai Hawks Osaka Stadium 17 Hiroshima Carp Central League Taiyo Whales Hiroshima Municipal Stadium 18 Kokutetsu Swallows Central League Chunichi Dragons Nagoya Stadium 19 Nishitetsu Lions Pacific League Toei Flyers Heiwadai Stadium 20 Toei Flyers Pacific League Kintetsu Buffalo Komazawa Baseball Stadium 21 * Taiyo Whales Central League Hanshin Tigers Kawasaki Stadium 22 Chunichi Dragons Central League Taiyo Whales Nagoya Stadium 23 Yomiuri Giants Central League Hanshin Tigers Korakuen Stadium 24 Hankyu Braves Pacific League Kintetsu Buffaloes Nishikyogoku Stadium 25 Nishitetsu Lions Pacific League Nankai Hawks Heiwadai Stadium 26 Lotte Orions Pacific League Toei Flyers Meiji Jingu Stadium 27 Lotte Orions Pacific League Nittaku Home Flyers Meiji Jingu Stadium 28 * Lotte Orions Pacific League Taiheiyo Club Lions Miyagi Baseball Stadium 29 Hiroshima Toyo Carp Central League Yomiuri Giants Maruyama Baseball Stadium 30 Yakult Swallows Central League Chunichi Dragons Meiji Jingu Stadium 31 Yokohama Taiyo Whales Central League Hanshin Tigers Yokohama Stadium 32 Hanshin Tigers Central League Chunichi Dragons Nagoya Stadium 33 Kintetsu Buffaloes Pacific League Hankyu Braves Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium 34 Nippon-Ham Fighters Pacific League Nankai Hawks Osaka Stadium 35 Hankyu Braves Pacific League Seibu Lions Seibu Lions Stadium 36 Hankyu Braves Pacific League Nankai Hawks Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium 37 Hiroshima Toyo Carp Central League Hanshin Tigers Koshien Stadium 38 Kintetsu Buffaloes Pacific League Nankai Hawks Osaka Stadium 39 * Seibu Lions Pacific League Lotte Orions Heiwadai Stadium 40 Kintetsu Buffaloes Pacific League Hankyu Braves Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium 41 Seibu Lions Pacific League Kintetsu Buffaloes Fujiidera Stadium 42 Nippon-Ham Fighters Pacific League Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Heiwadai Stadium 43 Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Pacific League Nippon-Ham Fighters Hamamatsu Stadium 44 Yakult Swallows Central League Chunichi Dragons Meiji Jingu Stadium 45 Orix Braves Pacific League Lotte Orions Green Stadium Kobe 46 Yakult Swallows Central League Chunichi Dragons Meiji Jingu Stadium 47 Kintetsu Buffaloes Pacific League Nippon-Ham Fighters Fujiidera Stadium 48 Yokohama BayStars Central League Chunichi Dragons Yokohama Stadium 49 Yokohama BayStars Central League Yakult Swallows Yokohama Stadium 50 Chunichi Dragons Central League Hanshin Tigers Nagoya Dome 51 Yomiuri Giants Central League Chunichi Dragons Tokyo Dome 52 Hiroshima Toyo Carp Central League Chunichi Dragons Hiroshima Municipal Stadium 53 Yomiuri Giants Central League Hiroshima Toyo Carp Hiroshima Municipal Stadium 54 Yokohama BayStars Central League Hiroshima Toyo Carp Alpen Stadium 55 Seibu Lions Pacific League Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes Seibu Dome 56 Yokohama BayStars Central League Hiroshima Toyo Carp Chiyodai Baseball Stadium 57 Chunichi Dragons Central League Yokohama BayStars Nagoya Dome 58 Orix BlueWave Pacific League Seibu Lions Seibu Dome 59 Chunichi Dragons Central League Hiroshima Toyo Carp Nagoya Dome 60 Yakult Swallows Central League Yokohama BayStars Matsumoto Baseball Stadium 61 * Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Pacific League Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes Osaka Dome 62 Hanshin Tigers Central League Chunichi Dragons Koshien Stadium 63 Seibu Lions Pacific League Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Sapporo Dome 64 Chunichi Dragons Central League Yomiuri Giants Tokyo Dome 65 Chiba Lotte Marines Pacific League Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Fullcast Stadium Miyagi 66 Yomiuri Giants Central League Hiroshima Toyo Carp Kyocera Dome Osaka 67 Hiroshima Toyo Carp Central League Yomiuri Giants Nagano Olympic Stadium 68 Chunichi Dragons Central League Hiroshima Toyo Carp Mazda Stadium 69 Hanshin Tigers Central League Chunichi Dragons Koshien Stadium 70 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Pacific League Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Sapporo Dome 71 Tokyo Yakult Swallows Central League Yomiuri Giants Kusanagi Stadium 72 Yokohama DeNA BayStars Central League Hanshin Tigers Yokohama Stadium 73 Chunichi Dragons Central League Yokohama DeNA BayStars Nagoya Dome 74 Hanshin Tigers Central League Yokohama DeNA BayStars Koshien Stadium 75 Yokohama DeNA BayStars Central League Hanshin Tigers Osaka Dome 76 Tokyo Yakult Swallows Central League Yomiuri Giants Tokyo Dome 77 Yomiuri Giants Central League Tokyo Yakult Swallows Meiji Jingu Stadium 78 Tokyo Yakult Swallows Central League Yokohama DeNA BayStars Meiji Jingu Stadium

Cycles by franchise + List of franchises, showing NPB-active dates and numbers of cycles achieved and allowedFranchiseActive datesCycles hitCycles allowedTaiyo Shochiku Robins / Yosho Robins / Taiyo Whales / Yokohama Taiyo Whales / Yokohama BayStars / Yokohama DeNA BayStars 1950–present 10 7Nagoya Club / Sangyo Club / Chubu Nippon / Chubu Nippon Dragons / Nagoya Dragons / Chunichi Dragons 1936–present 8 11Hankyu Baseball Club / Hankyu Bears / Hankyu Braves / Orix Braves / Orix BlueWave / Orix Buffaloes 1936–present 7 3Nishitetsu Clippers / Nishitetsu Lions / Taiheiyo Club Lions / Crown Lighter Lions / Seibu Lions / Saitama Seibu Lions 1950–present 7 3Hanshin Baseball Club / Osaka Tigers / Hanshin Tigers 1936–present 7 7Kokutetsu Swallows / Sankei Swallows / Sankei Atoms / Atoms / Yakult Atoms / Yakult Swallows / Tokyo Yakult Swallows 1950–present 8 2Hiroshima Carp / Hiroshima Toyo Carp 1950–present 6 8Great Japan Tokyo Baseball Club / Tokyo Giants / Yomiuri Giants 1934–present 6 7Mainichi Orions / Mainichi Daimai Orions / Tokyo Orions / Lotte Orions / Chiba Lotte Marines 1950–present 5 3Senators / Kyuei Flyers / Tokyu Flyers / Toei Flyers / Nittaku Home Flyers / Nippon-Ham Fighters / Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 1946–present 5 8Kintetsu Pearls / Kintetsu Buffalo / Kintetsu Buffaloes / Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes 1950–2004 4 8Nankai Club / Kinki Nippon Club / Kinki Great Ring / Nankai Hawks / Fukuoka Daiei Hawks / Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 1938–present 4 7Gold Star / Kinsei Stars / Daiei Stars / Daiei Unions 1946–1957 1 1Tombo Unions / Takahashi Unions 1954–1956 0 1Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 2005–present 0 1

See also

List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle List of KBO players to hit for the cycle

References General

Inline citations