Early Career
Araki was a first-round draft pick by Chunichi in 1995, out of high school. In 1997, he made his NPB debut and hit .179/.203/.209 in 74 plate appearances; he did steal 12 bases in 16 tries to lead his team. Araki was used as a defensive substitute in the outfield and at shortstop.
In 1998, the 20-year-old played 7 games for Chunichi but had just one at-bat, appearing as a pinch-runner and defensive sub. The next year, he went 1 for 4 in 16 games in a similar role; in four steal attempts, he was only successful once. In 2000, Araki remained a substitute, playing 40 games but only getting 12 plate appearances (2 for 10, 2 sacrifice flies, 3 SB in 3 tries). He spent 34 games in the outfield.
Read more about this topic: Masahiro Araki
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