Kazuo Kito

Kazuo Kito (鬼頭 数雄)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 6", Weight 132 lb.

• School Nihon University (dropped out)
• High School Chukyo Commercial High School
• Born April 25, 1917 in Nagoya, Aichi Japan
• Died 1944 near the Marianas

BR register page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Kazuo Kito began his career with the birth of the Japan Baseball League in 1936, hitting .218/.308/.283 for Dai Tokyo that spring and .205/.314/.205 in the fall season. In the spring of '37, he led the JBL with 244 AB and batted .275/.322/.361 and finishing 10th in the league in average. In the fall, he batted .321/.423/.439 and stole a league-high 22 bases. His average was second to Masashi Kageura. The club was renamed Lion during that season.

In 1938, Kazuo slipped to .219/.265/.323 in the spring and .247/.402/.301 in the fall campaign. The next year, still just 22, he hit .304/.358/.395 and was fifth in the JBL in average. 1940 was his finest year yet with a .321/.379/.453 season. He led the league in hits (124), triples (13) and batting average and possibly only Tetsuharu Kawakami had a higher slugging percentage. The first Best Nines were announced that year and Kito was one of the outfielders selected.

Declining to .199/.263/.242 in 1941, the club's cleanup man finished his career with a line of .277/.349/.367. He then entered the military and was killed serving his country in World War II. His brothers Masakazu Kito and Katsuji Kito also played in NPB.

Source: Japanbaseballdaily.com by Gary Garland