Kenji Yoshitsuru

Kenji Yoshitsuru (吉鶴 憲治)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 176 lb.

• High School Kagoshima Shoko High School

• Born May 3, 1971 in Kagoshima, Kagoshima Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kenji Yoshitsuru played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 10 years.

Yoshitsuru was drafted by the Chunichi Dragons in the 4th round of the 1992 NPB draft, and he went 4-for-21 in 1993. He only got 9 at-bats combined in the next two seasons, and the Dragons traded him with Tsuyoshi Yoda to the Chunichi Dragons for Koji Mori and Naoyuki Naito. Yoshitsuru had a 6-for-26 record in 1996, and he shared the starting catcher spot with Masaumi Shimizu in 1997. He played 98 games with a .229/.308/.267 batting line in '97, then he hit .235/.313/.340 in 1998. Yoshitsuru improved to .283/.353/.413 in 1999, but his batting line fell to .210/.233/.220 in 2000 and Tasuku Hashimoto took his spot. He only got 37 at-bats combined in thhe next two season, and he announced his retirement in 2002. Yoshitsuru later coached in the Chiba Lotte Marines system from 2003 to 2016, and he became the battery coach for the Softbank Hawks from 2018 to 2022 and for their minor league team from 2023 to 2024. He later scouted for the Dragons.

Overall, Yoshitsuru hit .236/.300/.304 with 147 hits and 9 homers in 10 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan