Kenji Johjima
Kenji Johjima (城島 健司, Jōjima Kenji, born June 8, 1976) /ˈdʒoʊdʒiːmə/ is a Japanese former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for four years with the Seattle Mariners in the American League, then returned to Japan and played for the Hanshin Tigers.
| Kenji Johjima | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Johjima with the Hanshin Tigers | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Catcher | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born: June 8, 1976 Sasebo, Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional debut | |||||||||||||||||||||
| NPB: May 31, 1995, for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB: April 3, 2006, for the Seattle Mariners | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB: October 3, 2009, for the Seattle Mariners | |||||||||||||||||||||
| NPB: May 9, 2012, for the Hanshin Tigers | |||||||||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .296 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 244 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 808 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .268 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 48 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 198 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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On November 21, 2005, Johjima and the Mariners agreed to a $16.5 million, three-year contract. Prior to signing with the Mariners, he played in Japan for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks team in the Pacific League who drafted him in 1999. Johjima also played in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens for Japan. On October 19, 2009, Johjima opted out of the final two years of a three-year extension that he had signed with the Mariners in 2008 with the intention to return to playing in Japan.