Japanese Baseball Star Aoki to Retire at End of 2024 Season

Tokyo, Sept. 13 (Jiji Press)--Japanese baseball star Norichika Aoki said Friday that he will retire at the end of this season.

Aoki, 42, now playing for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, has amassed a total of 2,723 hits in Japan and the United States, and won the batting title three times in the Central League of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball Organization, or NPB.

"I have decided to retire at the end of the 2024 season," Aoki, who is in his 21st season as a professional and is the oldest active fielder in the NPB, told reporters in Tokyo. "I've had a really happy baseball life. I can end my career as an active player without anything left undone."

This season, the Swallows outfielder has appeared in 61 games and racked up 20 hits, putting his batting average at .192. He was taken off the roster of the Central League team on Aug. 5.

"I was unable to give my (best) performance," he said, adding he felt that many younger players have grown up.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]