Futoshi Yamabe
From BR Bullpen
Futoshi Yamabe
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 5' 11", Weight 167 lb.
- High School Yawatahama Kogyo High School
- Born January 14, 1971 in Yawatahama, Ehime Japan
After high school, Futoshi Yamabe pitched for NTT Shikoku in the industrial leagues. In 1994, he was the first-round pick of the Yakult Swallows in the NPB draft and on April 26, threw a no-hitter in the Eastern League. With Yakult that year, Yamabe went 1-6 with a 4.03 ERA, striking out 64 in 67 1/3 innings but walking 43. He had his best season in '95, going 16-7 with a 3.83 ERA, 144 K and 89 walks in 160 innings. He did not allow a run in five and a third innings in the 1995 Japan Series and won game two in relief. Only Masaki Saito won more games in the Central League that year and Yamabe made the Central League All-Star team.
In 1996, Futoshi had a 7-4 record and 4.00 ERA and again was an All-Star. Arm injuries began to trouble the youngster. He only went 0-2 with a 3.53 ERA in 25 2/3 innings in '97. He did pitch in the 1997 Japan Series, allowing one run in a third of an inning and took the defeat in game two, Yakult's lone loss of the series. In 1998, Yamabe had a 3-8 record and 4.57 ERA as a starter/reliever and followed that with a 6-7, 5.18 year. He went 1-3, 6.82 season in only 30 1/3 innings in 2000 and in '01 was 4-2 with a 3.76 ERA. In 2002, Yamabe had a 5-3, 5.53 record and the next season, the 32-year-old southpaw was 2-0 with a 1.05 ERA in joining Hirotoshi Ishii as a fine one-two left-handed punch in the Swallows bullpen.
By 2004, Futoshi was back in trouble at 2-2 with a 7.20 ERA and 2.39 WHIP. In '05, Yamabe was 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA and 1.76 WHIP in a LOOGY role, only hurling 21 innings in 40 games. Through that year, his career record was 47-46, 4.34 with 648 K in 740 1/3 innings.
Primary Source: Japanbaseballdaily.com by Gary Garland
