Hiroaki Tani

Hiroaki Tani (谷 宏明)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 176 lb.

• High School Kumamoto Daiichi Technical High School

• Born April 7, 1956 in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hiroaki Tani played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 14 years.

Tani was drafted by the Kintetsu Buffaloes in the 5th round of the 1974 NPB draft, but he spent his first five seasons primarily in the NPB Farm Leagues; he only pitched 12 games combined for the big club. Tani had a 6.68 ERA in 12 games in 1980, and his ERA was 5.40 in 13 appearances in 1981. He broke out in 1982, and he went 11-9 with a 3.54 ERA. He was 7th in wins in the Pacific League (tied with Takashi Imoto, Masayuki Matsunuma, Keishi Suzuki and Kazuhiro Yamauchi), 4th in strikeouts (tied with Yutaka Enatsu) and 5th in complete games (14, tied with Takanori Yamauchi).

The Kumamoto native slumped to 4-8 with a 6.13 ERA in 1983, and he soon bounced back in 1984. He was 8-9 with a 3.57 ERA that season, and he was 6th in ERA (between Yoshinori Sato and Matsunuma). Tani's ERA rose to 6.80 in 16 games in 1985, and he went 5-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 1986. He was 4-6 with a 5.59 ERA in 1987, and he only pitched one game in 1988. The Buffaloes then traded him to the Yakult Swallows for Masahiko Goseki, but he had a 6.62 ERA in 12 games in 1989 and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Tani was 36-50 with a 4.81 ERA, struck out 438 and pitched 812 2/3 innings in 14 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan