Kenji Tachibana

Kenji Tachibana (橘 健治)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 198 lb.

• High School Tsukumi High School

• Born March 8, 1954 in Oita, Oita Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kenji Tachibana played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 12 years.

Tachibana was drafted by the Kintetsu Buffaloes in the 3rd round of the 1971 NPB draft, and he only pitched one game in 1972. He was 0-3 with a 2.00 ERA in 1973, and he recorded a 4.06 ERA in 31 appearances in 1974. Tachibana then spent his next five seasons primarily in the NPB Farm Leagues, and he only got 15 appearances for the big club. He pitched a shutout inning in the 1979 Nippon Series Game 4, and the Buffaloes lost to the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 7 games. The Oita native joined the rotation in 1980, and he was 8-11 with a 5.90 ERA that season. He ranked 8th in losses in the Pacific League, tied with Yukihiro Murakami. He completed 2 shutout inning in the 1980 Nippon Series Game 6, and the Buffaloes lost to the Carp in 7 games again. Tachibana improved to 7-7 with a 3.46 ERA in 1981, and he was 10th in ERA (between Masayuki Matsunuma and Tadashi Sugimoto). He then went 6-3 with a 4.31 ERA in 1982, but his ERA rose to 7.58 in 14 games in 1983. Tachibana was 2-1 with a 5.63 ERA in 1984, and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Tachibana was 28-29 with a 4.69 ERA, struck out 251 and pitched 573 1/3 innings in 12 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan