Masahiro Yanagida

Masahiro Yanagida (柳田 真宏)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 176 lb.

• High School Kyushu Gakuin High School

• Born May 21, 1948 in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Masahiro Yanagida played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 16 years.

Yanagida was drafted by the Nishitetsu Lions in the 2nd round of the 1966 NPB draft, and he went 7-for-38 in 1967. He was 8-for-37 in 1968, and the Lions traded him to the Yomiuri Giants for Kusuo Tanaka. Yanagida was 4-for-16 in 1969, and he had a 3-for-25 record in 1970. He played 67 games with a .284/.376/.500 batting line in 1971, and he was 1-for-6 in the 1971 Nippon Series with a homer against Hisashi Yamada in Game 2. The Giants beat the Hankyu Braves in 5 games. Yanagida's batting line fell to .212/.280/.372 in 1972, and he was 0-for-1 in the 1972 Nippon Series; the Giants beat the Braves again in 5 games.

The Kumamoto native bounced back with a .293/.404/.533 batting line in 1973, and he had a 2-for-11 record in the 1973 Nippon Series; the Giants beat the Nankai Hawks in 5 games. Yanagida then crushed 15 homers with a .335/.406/.566 batting line in 1974, and he would have won the Central League batting title had he qualified. He played 90 games with a .263/.337/.397 batting line in 1975, and he hit .298/.346/.534 with 9 homers in 1976. Yanagida went 4-for-13 in the 1976 Nippon Series, and the Braves beat the Giants in 7 games. He hit his teammate Toshimitsu Suetsugu's left eye in a practice before the 1977 season, and Suetsugu retired because of that injury.

Yanagida had his career year in 1977, and he crushed a career-high 21 homers with a .340/.425/.567 batting line. He ranked 3rd in batting, between Isao Harimoto and Yasunori Oshima. However, he was 0-for-13 in the 1977 Nippon Series, and the Braves beat the Giants in 5 games. Yanagida crushed 11 homers with a .291/.369/.512 batting line in 1978, and he hit .265/.327/.443 with 14 homers in 1979. The Giants then traded him with Yuji Kasama to the Braves for Hiroaki Nagamoto, and his batting line fell to .221/.331/.375 in 1980. The Braves sent him back to the Giants for Nagamoto, and he was 6-for-46 in 1981. He went 12-for-50 in 1982, and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Yanagida hit .282/.358/.480 with 649 hits and 99 homers in 16 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan