Ikuo Takayama

Ikuo Takayama (高山 郁夫)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 175 lb.

• High School Akita Municipal Commercial High School

• Born September 8, 1962 in Odate, Akita Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Ikuo Takayama played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years

Takayama suffered from a right foot injury in the semifinal of the 1980 Spring Koshien, and Rikuo Nemoto of the Prince Hotel helped him recover from it. Thus, when he was drafted by the Nippon Ham Fighters in the first round of the 1980 NPB draft after they lost the lottery for the rights to Tatsunori Hara, Takayama refused to sign and joined Nemoto's team in the industrial league. He was then picked by the Seibu Lions in the 3rd round of the 1984 NPB draft, and he went 4-2 with a 3.93 ERA for the San Jose Bees that season. Takayama was 1-1 with a 7.77 ERA in 1985, and he only pitched one game in 1986.

The Akita native was 3-2 with a 4.66 ERA in 1988, then he went 5-4 with a 4.16 ERA in 1989. He only pitched one game in 1990, and he was traded to the Hiroshima Carp for Nobuhiro Takagi. Takayama's ERA was 4.91 in 9 games in 1991, and he only got 3 appearances in each of the next two seasons. He had a 3-3 record with a 5.80 ERA in 1994, and the Carp released him. He signed with the Daiei Hawks, and he had a 2.49 ERA in 16 games in 1995. However, Takayama allowed 9 runs in 6 2/3 innings in 1996, and he announced his retirement. He was the pitching coach for the Ehime Mandarin Pirates in 2005, and he became the minor league pitching coach for the Hawks in 2006. Takayama was the pitching coach for the Hawks from 2007 to 2013, for the Orix Buffaloes from 2014 to 2015 and for the Chunichi Dragons minor league team from 2016 to 2017. He returned to Orix as their pitching coach from 2018 to 2023.

Overall, Takayama was 12-12 with a 5.16 ERA, struck out 120 and pitched 249 1/3 innings in 11 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan