Junji Kuroki

Junji Kuroki (黒木 純司)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.

• High School Nobeoka Gakuen High School

• Born June 20, 1974 in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Junji Kuroki pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 8 years.

Kuroki was drafted by the Nippon Ham Fighters in the 4th round of the 1995 NPB draft, and he only pitched one game in his first season. He then notched 6 saves with a 3.82 ERA in 34 appearances in 1997, and he was 4-3 with 8 saves and a 4.80 ERA in 1998. Kuroki was 6th in saves in the Pacific League, tied with Erik Schullstrom and Denney Tomori. He collected 8 saves again with a 3.34 ERA in 50 relief outings in 1999, and he ranked 8th in appearances (between Tomori and Brian Warren) and 6th in saves (tied with Isao Koda and Carlos Valdez). Kuroki then pitched 32 games with a 4.81 ERA in 2000, but he spent nearly the entire 2001 season in the minors. The Fighters traded him to the Chiba Lotte Marines for Junichiro Muto, but he only pitched 10 more games for the top team before he announced his retirement in 2003. Kuroki later became a scout, signing Hideto Doi, Atsuya Hirohata, Ryusei Terachi and Shunsuke Nakamori.

Overall, Kuroki was 14-12 with a 4.41 ERA and 22 saves, struck out 131 and pitched 249 innings in 8 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan