Katsumi Kanayama

Katsumi Kanayama (金山 勝巳)

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

• High School Kawauchi High School

• Born May 22, 1933 in Kiryu, Gunma Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Katsumi Kanayama played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 10 years.

Kanayama signed with the Tokyu Flyers in 1953, and he went 9-9 with a 2.80 ERA in his first season. He started against Tadashi Wakabayashi - who was 25 years and three months older than him - on October 4, and they broke the NPB record for largest age difference between starters in a game (broken by Yuki Kuniyoshi and Masahiro Yamamoto in 2012). He then went 4-11 with a 4.23 ERA in 1954, and he was 4-13 with a 3.23 ERA in 1955. Kanayama improved to 8-12 with a 2.11 ERA in 1956, and he went 9-9 with a 2.29 ERA in 1957.

The Kiryu native was hitless in 9 innings on May 18, 1958, but Yoshinori Hirose broke his no-hit bid in the 10th inning. He ended up 7-11 with a 2.10 ERA in that season, and he had a 8-4 record with a 2.61 ERA in 1959. Kanayama went 5-5 with a 1.75 ERA in 1960, but his ERA rose to 3.04 in 25 appearances in 1961. He only pitched 4 games in 1962, and he announced his retirement. He was the pitching coach for the Flyers from 1966 to 1968 and in 1975, and he also coached their minors team and scouted for them.

Overall, Kanayama was 57-78 with a 2.65 ERA, struck out 628 and pitched 1,262 innings in 10 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan