Keishi Suzuki

Keishi Suzuki (鈴木 啓示) (Mr. Buffaloes)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 190 lbs.

• High School Ikuei High School

• Born September 28, 1947 in Nishiwaki, Hyogo Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Lefty pitcher Keishi Suzuki led the Pacific League in strikeouts eight times in his 20-year career in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Suzuki was drafted by the Kintetsu Buffaloes in the second round of the 1965 NPB draft, and he joined their rotation as a rookie. He was selected into the 1966 NPB All-Star Game, and he pitched 3 innings with a 2-run dinger allowed to Takeshi Koba in Game 3. Suzuki tied Toshiaki Moriyasu for 4th in strikeouts, and he tied Tsutomu Tanaka and Koichiro Sasaki for 10th in losses. He became the ace of the Buffaloes in 1967, and he had a 21-13 record with a 2.77 ERA. He led the league with 222 strikeouts and 19 complete games, and he was 2nd in wins (2 behind Masaaki Ikenaga) and 4th in innings (between Tetsuya Yoneda and Fumio Narita). He was selected into the 1967 NPB All-Star Game, and he struck out 6 in 3 shutout innings as the starter of Game 1.

The young phenomenon improved to 23-21 with a 2.48 ERA in 1968, and he completed his first 300 strikeouts season. He led the league with 305 strikeouts, 359 innings and 41 homers allowed, and he ranked 3rd in wins (tied with Ikenaga), 2nd in losses (2 behind Moriyasu), 5th in complete games (18, between Narita and Moriyasu), 2nd in shutouts (7, 1 behind Mutsuo Minagawa) and 4th in ERA (between Ikenaga and Kazuhisa Inao). He holds the Kintetsu team record for most strikeouts in a season. He was voted into the 1968 NPB All-Star Game, but he allowed 4 runs in 3 innings, including a 2-run shot to Isao Shibata in Game 2 and got the loss; he added 1/3 of a inning in Game 3. He completed a no-hitter against the Toei Flyers on August 8.

Suzuki extended his dominant performance in 1969, and he led the league in wins for the first time in his career. Suzuki went 24-13 with a 2.50 ERA, and he also led the league with 28 complete games, 330 2/3 innings pitched, 34 homers allowed and 286 strikeouts. He was 6th in ERA, between Sanshiro Nishioka and Ikenaga. Suzuki pitched 1/3 of a shutout inning in the 1969 NPB All-Star Game 1, and he completed 3 innings with 4 Ks as the starter of Game 2. He won his first Best Nine award. Suzuki then went 21-14 with a 2.75 ERA in 1970, and he again led the league with 247 strikeouts and 22 complete games. He was 3rd in wins (tied with Masaaki Kitaru), 6th in ERA (between Tomehiro Kaneda and Satoru Miwa) and 2nd in innings (2 2/3 behind Kaneda). in THE 1970 NPB All-Star Game, he allowed 3 runs including a solo shot to Sadaharu Oh in Game 3 and he still got the win over Hidetake Watanabe.

The ace of Kintetsu completed his second no-hitter against the Nishitetsu Lions on September 9, 1971, and he was 21-15 with a 3.22 ERA. He again led the league in complete games (25), innings (291 1/3) and strikeouts (269), and he was 3rd in wins (between Hisashi Yamada and Mitsuhiro Adachi), 3rd in losses (tied with Masanori Murakami and Naoki Takahashi) and 7th in ERA (between Toshio Kanbe and Masaaki Koyama). Suzuki was voted into the 1971 NPB All-Star Game, and he fanned 5 in 3 shutout innings in Game 1. He then had a had a 14-15 record with 180 Ks a 3.42 ERA in 1972, and that was his 6th straight season as the strikeout leader. Suzuki was voted into the 1972 NPB All-Star Game, and he collected 4 strikeouts in 3 shutout innings in Game 1. He was 8th in wins (tied with Osamu Nomura), 3rd in complete games (14, tied with Takenori Emoto) and 4th in innings (between Hajime Kato and Emoto).

Suzuki slumped to 11-13 with a 3.40 ERA and only 119 strikeouts in 1973, and he was beaten by Narita in the run for strikeout leader. He still ranked 2nd in Ks, 69 behind Narita's 118. Suzuki attended the 1973 NPB All-Star Game, and he surrendered 4 runs in 1/3 of a inning in Game 1 and got the loss. He then went 12-15 with a 3.22 ERA in 1974, and he missed the All-Star Game for the first time in his career. Suzuki led the league with 141 strikeouts, 15 losses, 229 innings and 14 complete games, and he tied Kanbe, Kato, Choji Murata, Satoshi Niimi and Akira Tanaka for 4th in losses.

The Hiroshima native bounced back in 1975, and he was selected into the 1975 NPB All-Star Games. He struck out 4 in 3 shutout innings in Game 1, and he added 2 shutout innings in Game 3. Suzuki went 22-69 with a 2.26 ERA, and he was 2nd in wins (1 behind Osamu Higashio), 2nd in wins (.05 behind Murata), 2nd in complete games (18, tied with Takashi Yamaguchi) and 9th in strikeouts (tied with Narita). He won his second Best Nine award. Suzuki was still stable in 1976, and he got 18 wins with a 2.67 ERA and 15 losses in 31 starts. He led the league with 24 complete games and 265 2/3 innings pitched, and he was 4th in wins (between Shinichi Yamauchi and Adachi), 2nd in losses (1 behind Nomura), 5th in strikeouts (between Kazumi Takahashi and N.Takahashi) and 9th in ERA (between Yutaka Yanagida and Yamaguchi.

Suzuki was voted into the 1977 NPB All-Star Game, and he pitched 3 shutout innings in each of Game 2 and 3. He was 20-12 with a 2.35 ERA in 1977, and he collected his 200th career win against the Lotte Orions. Suzuki led the league in wins, complete games and shutouts, and he was 2nd in ERA (.07 behind Yamada) and 4th in strikeouts (between Yamaguchi and Yamada). Suzuki then had one of the most impressive season in NPB history. He set the PL record with 10 straight completed games wins, and he went 25-10 with a 2.02 ERA, 30 complete games, 8 shutouts and 178 strikeouts. He was the oldest player to win a triple crown in the PL history, and he was the only PL southpaw to win a triple crown and led in shutouts. After Suzuki, no other pitcher has won more than 25 games as of 2025. He won his third and last Best Nine, and he was selected into the 1978 NPB All-Star Game; he pitched 3 shutout innings in Game 2. Suzuki set the [L record with 30 complete games in a season, and he still held the record as of 2025.

After his gorgeous 1978 season, Suzuki slumped to 10-8 with a 4.40 ERA in 1979. He finally made his Nippon Series debut in the 1979 Nippon Series Game 2, and he shut out the Hiroshima Carp with 9 strikeouts. Suzuki then pitched 7 innings with only a run allowed in Game 5, but the Buffaloes were blanked by Kazuo Yamane. In Game 7, Suzuki surrendered 2 runs in 3 innings as the starter, and the Buffaloes lost to the Carp. He struggled again in 1980 due to injuries, and he was 14-8 with a 3.87 ERA. He was selected into the 1980 NPB All-Star Game, and he pitched 2 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts in Game 2. Suzuki ranked 5th in wins and 8th in strikeouts (between K.Takahashi and Tokunari Nishina). Just as last year, Suzuki complete the game and got the win in Game 2 against the Carp, and he then completed Game 5 with 2 runs allowed and got the second win. He relieved Takashi Imoto in the 6th inning of Game 7, but he gave up 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning and got the loss.

Suzuki slumped to 5-11 with a 5.12 ERA in 1981, and he bounced back with a 11-10 record with a 3.74 ERA in 1982. He was 7th in wins (tied with Masayuki Matsunuma, Hiroaki Tani, Imoto and Yamauchi) and 8th in strikeouts. He was selected into the 1983 NPB All-Star Games, and he pitched 3 shutout innings as the starter of Game 3. He ended up 14-11 with a 3.70 ERA in 1983, and he was 6th in wins (tied with Yamada), 8th in ERA (between Yukihiko Yamaoki and Hirohisa Matsunuma) and 5th in strikeouts (between Yamauchi and Norihiro Mizutani). He led the league with 23 complete games and 3 shutouts.

Mr. Buffaloes attended the All-Star for the 15th time in his career, and he again completed 3 shutout innings as the starter of Game 2. Suzuki had a 16-10 record with a 3.76 ERA in 1984, and he was 3rd in wins (tied with Yamauchi), 7th in strikeouts (between Yoshio Fukazawa and Tomio Tanaka) and 10th in ERA (between Fukazawa and Masaru Ishikawa). He got his 300th win against the Nippon Ham Fighters on May 5. He was 5-6 with a 7.89 ERA in 1985, and he announced his retirement. Following his long career, he went onto manage the Buffaloes from 1993 to 1995. Suzuki was instrumental in helping Kintetsu pitcher Hideo Nomo go to the major leagues by often being in dispute with Nomo. He was selected into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.

Overall, Suzuki was 317-238 with a 3.11 ERA, struck out 3,061 and pitched 4,600 1/3 innings in 20 seasons in NPB. As of 2025, he held the NPB record with 560 homers allowed and 78 walk-free complete games. He was also 17th in appearances (between Shigeo Ishii and Yoshihisa Hirano), 3rd in starts (behind Yoneda and Koyama), 3rd in completed games (behind Masaichi Kaneda and Victor Starffin), 5th in shutouts (between Takehiko Bessho and Jiro Noguchi), 4th in wins (between Bessho and Koyama), 5th in losses (between Higashio and Koyama), 5th in hits allowed (between Koyama and Takao Kajimoto), 10th in walks (between Kimiyasu Kudoh and Shoichi Ono), 4th in strikeouts (between Koyama and Yutaka Enatsu) and 44th in ERA (between Takayuki Kishi and Yamada).

Related Sites

• Japan Baseball Daily
• Wiki Japan