Kazuhiko Okaji

Kazuhiko Okaji (岡持 和彦)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 170 lb.

• High School Rikkyo High School

• Born September 9, 1951 in Toshima, Tokyo Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kazuhiko Okaji played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 17 years.

Okaji was drafted by the Toei Flyers in the 6th round of the 1969 NPB draft, and he pitched 2 games with a 3.00 ERA in 1970. He was then turned into an outfielder, and he spent the next two seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues. Okaji went 7-for-32 in 1973, and he hit .234/.260/.314 in 80 games in 1974. He blasted 7 homers with a .272/.324/.424 batting line in 1975, then he recorded a .250/.309/.343 batting line in 1976. Okaji played 108 games with a .282/.319/.380 batting line in 1977, and he hit .300/.367/.413 in 1978. He only played 61 games in 1979, and his batting line fell to .234/.281/.383.

The Tokyo native struggled again in 1980, and he batted .218/.295/.376 with 5 homers. Okaji then bounced back with a .315/.384/.483 batting line in 41 games in 1981, and he went 2-for-10 in the 1981 Nippon Series with a solo shot against Hajime Kato in Game 1. He collected 6 homers with a .226/.303/.403 batting line in 1982, then he hit .264/.404/.409 in 1983. He only played 49 games with a .241/.333/.388 batting line in 1984, and he crushed a career-high 10 homers with a .291/.347/.438 batting line in 1985. Okaji hit .263/.336/.436 in 1986, and he had a solid .309/.392/.486 with 9 homers in 1987. However, he slumped to .181/.254/.267 in 1988 and he announced his retirement. He later became the minor league fielding coach for the Nippon Ham Fighters from 1989 to 1991, then was their fielding coach in 1992 and batting coach from 1993 to 1994.

Overall, Okaji hit .260/.325/.395 with 698 hits and 78 homers in 17 seasons in NPB..

Sources

• Wiki Japan