Nippon-Ham: Yudai Furukawa decides to retire "after much deliberation" - achieves no hitter with Ponce in 2022 | Pacific League

[Nippon-Ham] Yudai Furukawa decides to retire after “debate” and achieves no hitter with Ponce in 2022

Sports Hochi

2025.9.29(月) 21:33

Yudai Furukawa embraces Ponce after pitching a no-hitter against Softbank no hitter on August 27, 2022.

Nippon-Ham Fighters catcher Yudai Furukawa (27) has decided to retire. On the 29th, the team announced that they would not be signing a contract for next season. Afterwards, in an interview with Sports Hochi, he said, “I have decided to quit baseball and retire. I’m not sure what my future holds, but I would like to keep an open mind, listen to what various people have to say, and think about my life again.”

He attracted attention as a powerful catcher during his time at Jobu University, and joined the team at the same time as Hiromi Ito and entered the professional league as the third pick in the 2020 draft. In his second year, on August 27, 2022, in a game against Softbank (Sapporo Dome), he assisted Ponce in no hitter. He still remembers that scene as his best memory from his five years at the team. “At the time, I was really relieved. I was playing thinking, ‘don’t think about it, don’t think about it,’ but that made it even more so… I had been leading with such tension the whole time, so the moment I achieved it, all the tension was released all at once… I remember that very well.”

He will not be playing in the first team this season. He was prepared for this. His only regret is, “Maybe I wasn’t able to live up to the expectations of the fans who support me.” The cheering towels with his name on them were clearly visible from ground, and the warm, loud applause he received as he walked to the left batter’s box. “That was what made me happiest, more than anything.”

A Kyushu boy born in Fukuoka, he is always calm and has a kind heart, never fighting with his siblings. He is shy and not very talkative, but he likes to make people happy, such as when he gave his sister, who is four years younger than him, a wallet from the luxury brand Loewe. As a child, intense practice with his father, Yuichiro, was a daily routine. “It was like a set path was laid out for me, it was already decided that I would play baseball (laughs). He was strict. On days when I hit the ball and days when I didn’t, I just swung the bat. He would get up early in the morning and spend all my time in the garden at home with me.”

After the second-division game on the 28th, he called his parents to tell them that he would be retiring at the end of the season. Along with words of encouragement, he received a loving message saying, “You’ll have to think about it on your own from now on.”

He was also a stoic man who carefully considered his diet on a daily basis and maintained moderation for the sake of baseball. “Maybe you can still do it?” “Why don’t you try to do as much as you can?” These were the kinds of words he was told after being cut from the team. Still, he remained firm in his decision, which he had made after much deliberation and consideration. “I was reminded once again that the stage of professional baseball is not a world that just anyone can enter. I am truly grateful to The Fighters. However, after really thinking things through, I felt that it would be better for me to move on to the next path in my life. There is a lot more life ahead of me. After much deliberation, I made this decision.” The 27-year-old quietly put down his bat and looked ahead with determination.

Yudai Furukawa was born on June 19, 1998 in Yame, Fukuoka. He is 27 years old. He started playing baseball in the third grade of elementary school, and after attending Kurume Commercial High School, he entered Jobu University. In 2019, he was selected for the Samurai Japan University National Team. He is 184 cm tall and weighs 91 kg. His hobby is saunas.