Koji Goto

Koji Goto (後藤 孝志)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 187 lb.

• High School Chukyo University Senior High School

• Born May 14, 1969 in Ichinomiya, Aichi Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Koji Goto played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 15 years.

Goto was drafted by the Yomiuri Giants in the 2nd round of the 1987 NPB draft, and he spent his first seven seasons primarily in the NPB Farm Leagues; he only got 31 at-bats combined for the big club. He hit .343/.457/.567 in 51 games in 1995 before a left foot injury ended his season in August, and he had a .285/.348/.407 batting line in 1996. Goto went 0-for-5 in the 1996 Nippon Series, and the Giants lost to the Orix BlueWave in 5 games. He collected a career-high 14 doubles with a .272/.347/.411 batting line in 1997, and he played 104 games with a .247/.322/.331 batting line in 1998.

The Aichi native recorded a .273/.310/.414 batting line in 1999, and he hit .269/.344/.463 with 6 homers in 2000. Goto was 1-for-8 in the 2000 Nippon Series, and the Giants beat the Daiei Hawks in 6 games. He only got 66 at-bats with a .273/.372/.348 batting line in 2001, and he slumped to .233/.292/.283 in 86 games in 2002. Goto was 2-for-4 in the 2002 Nippon Series with a 2-run triple against Daisuke Matsuzaka in Game 4, and the Giants swept the Seibu Lions. His batting line was .283/.338/.417 in 2003, but he slumped to .208/.247/.236 in 2004 and he announced his retirement in 2005.

After retiring, Goto went to the Tampa Yankees in 2006 as a coach. He returned to Japan in 2007 as the manager of the Oisix Niigata Albirex Baseball Club in 2007, and he was an assistant coach for Tokai University in 2008. Goto was a coach for the Staten Island Yankees in 2013, and he coached the minor league team of the Giants from 2014 to 2017. He was named the batting coach for the Doosan Bears in 2018, and he became the fielding coach for the Giants from 2019 to 2021. Goto returned to the Bears as their batting coach in 2023.

Overall, Goto hit .263/.330/.380 with 332 hits and 30 homers in 15 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan