Cory Spangenberg is going back to Japan.
The Abington Heights grad will return to the Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball for another season, the team announced Wednesday on its website. Spangenberg played 111 games for Seibu last season, when the coronavirus pandemic limited Major League Baseball to just a 60-game slate, and led the team with an .807 OPS.
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to return to the Seibu Lions for my second year in Japan,” Spangenberg said in the press release. “I’m excited and anxious to get back to see my teammates and coaches. I am hopeful we can have a better year than last year and make it to the playoffs in front of our great fans.”
The 29-year-old batted .268 (109 for 407), with 26 doubles and eight triples — both team highs — and slugged 15 homers, second most on the club. He drove in 57 runs and swiped 12 bases. Seibu finished in third place in its division, 1½ games back of a playoff spot.
This year marks 10 years (and 11 seasons) in professional baseball for Spangenberg, who was the 10th overall pick of the 2011 draft by the San Diego Padres. He made his big league debut in 2014 and has 419 games of major league experience under his belt, including 32 for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019.
Conor Foley goes beyond the box score with in-depth coverage of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. He has worked at The Times-Tribune since graduating from University of Scranton in 2011, and he has covered the RailRiders since 2017. Contact: cfoley@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9125; or @railridersTT