Hanshin Tigers third baseman Teruaki Sato hit two home runs on Thursday night against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, bolstering his lead in all three Central League Triple Crown categories.
The 27-year-old went 3 for 4 with two homers and four RBI in Hanshin’s 7-4 victory at Meiji Jingu Stadium. He is now batting .324 with 34 home runs and 91 RBI this season.
Sato opened the scoring with an RBI single against rookie southpaw Shota Masui in the first inning. The hit gave him 500 RBI for his Nippon Professional Baseball career.
Sato then hit his 33rd home run of the year in the third inning, driving a slider from Masui into the right-center field seats. According to NPB+, the solo shot had an exit velocity of 112.1 mph and traveled an estimated 451 feet.
He added No. 34 in the fifth inning, hitting a two-run bomb off right-hander Kengo Matsumoto. It was Sato’s fourth multi-homer game of the campaign.
Sato has now homered in three consecutive games and has four home runs during that span. The stretch moved him three home runs ahead of teammate Shota Morishita for the Central League lead and into a tie with Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks star Ryoya Kurihara for the NPB lead.
Sato also leads the CL with a .324 batting average and 91 RBI, giving him sole possession of first place in batting average, home runs, and RBI. His .400 on-base percentage and .637 slugging percentage also lead the league, putting him atop all three slashline categories.
No Hanshin player has won the Triple Crown since Randy Bass in 1986. Bass batted .389 with 47 home runs and 109 RBI that season, winning his second consecutive CL MVP Award. With a 40-homer season and an MVP Award already under his belt from 2025, Sato has a chance to follow Bass by winning back-to-back MVPs.
The most recent NPB Triple Crown winner was Munetaka Murakami of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2022. The current Chicago White Sox infielder batted .318 with 56 home runs and 134 RBI, becoming the first NPB player to win the Triple Crown since Nobuhiko Matsunaka in 2004. At 22 years old, Murakami was also the youngest Triple Crown winner in NPB history, while his 56 home runs set the single-season record for a Japanese-born player.
Sato could also become one of the most prominent Japanese players available to Major League teams this offseason. Because he has not yet reached international free agency, Hanshin would have to make him available through the posting system. That decision will not be announced until after the season.
Sato is in his sixth season with the Tigers after being selected in the first round of the 2020 NPB Draft out of Kinki University. He has been a regular in Hanshin’s lineup since his rookie season and was part of the club’s Japan Series championship team in 2023. After winning the CL MVP in 2025, he represented Samurai Japan at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
He is now in the midst of his best season yet, chasing a potential Triple Crown with a possible move to MLB looming this offseason.