Akio Masuda

Akio Masuda (益田 昭雄)

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 156 lb.

• High School Kuga High School

• Born January 15, 1938 in Yamaguchi Prefecture Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Akio Masuda joined the Yomiuri Giants in 1962. After three seasons of limited usage, he became a regular reliever in 1965 and went 4-1 with a 2.01 ERA in 33 appearances, allowing 52 hits in 76 innings. He was again 4-1, now with a 2.79 ERA, and pitched 30 times in 1966. Masuda pitched 3 shutout innings in the 1966 Nippon Series Game 2, and he was named their starter in Game 6. He shut out the Nankai Hawks to get the win over Mutsuo Minagawa, and he won his only Japan Series title. After only four games in 1967 with Yomiuri, he went to the Nishitetsu Lions in 1968. He went 7-14 with a 2.88 ERA after joining Nishitetsu's rotation, and he was 5th in losses in the Pacific League (tied with Yoshimasa Takahashi, Satomi Bando and Shigeo Ishii). Masuda was 8-15 with a 3.26 ERA in 1969, and he ranked 3rd in losses (tied with Toshiaki Moriyasu) and 10th in strikeouts (between Mitsugu Tanaka and Masaaki Ikenaga). He only pitched 3 games in 1970, then he was banned from baseball due to his involvement in the Black Mist Scandal.

Overall, Masuda went 25-33 with a 3.07 ERA, struck out 361 and pitched 556 2/3 innings in 9 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan