Mitsuo Tatsukawa

Mitsuo Tatsukawa (達川 光男) (Tatchan)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 162 lb.

• School Toyo University
• High School Hiroshima Commercial High School

• Born July 13, 1955 in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Mitsuo Tatsukawa was a 7-time All-Star catcher and later the manager of his hometown Hiroshima Carp.

Tatsukawa was on the 1973 National High School Baseball Championship champions. The Carp took him in the 4th round of the 1977 NPB draft out of college. He was 6 for 28 with a walk and a double in 1978, backing up Shiro Mizunuma at catcher. He batted .222/.292/.222 in 49 games in 1979, then did not play in the 1979 Japan Series (won by Hiroshima). He was only 1 for 5 in 1980 and again sat out the Japan Series, which his club won. By 1981, Mizunuma was aging and Tatsukawa's playing time picked off somewhat; he hit .221/.285/.283 in 123 plate appearances. By 1982, he was playing more than Mizunuma and batting .210/.289/.307.

Tatsukawa was the clear starter by 1983, the year he hit .252/.300/.330 and made his first Central League All-Star team. He started in the 1983 NPB All-Star Game 3, and he collected a single against Tsunemi Tsuda. He hit .244/.333/.340 in 1984, won the Diamond Glove Award and was named to the Best Nine as the top catcher in the CL. In the 1984 Japan Series, he went 6 for 20, with a homer against Yoshinori Sato, to help Hiroshima beat the Hankyu Braves (through 2025, it was their most recent Japan Series title). Tatsukawa's batting line in 1985 was .230/.289/.309.

In 1986, Tatsukawa picked up his game a notch, hitting .274/.335/.394 with 21 doubles and 9 home runs. He made his second All-Star team, but he was 0-for-3 in the 1986 NPB All-Star Games. Tatsukawa won his second Diamond Glove and made his second Best Nine. He went 5 for 20 with 7 walks in the 1986 Japan Series with a game-winning RBI double against Taigen Kaku in Game 3, which Hiroshima lost to the Seibu Lions. He won the Fighting Spirit Award as the MVP of the losing side. Mitsuo hit .256/.327/.356 in 1987 and made his third All-Star team; he was again 0-for-3 in the 1987 NPB All-Star Games. Tatsukawa batted .261/.327/.342 in 1988, and he led the league with 18 intentional walks. He won his final Gold Glove (the Diamond Glove having been renamed) and Best Nine honors.

Tatsukawa fell to .227/.322/.300 in 1989 but was still picked as an All-Star. In 1990, he rebounded to .265/.312/.331 though he fell back down to .237/.314/.298 in 1991. He was selected into the 1991 NPB All-Star Games, and he went 1-for-2, with a single against Katsuyoshi Murata. He was 5 for 20 with a double and a walk in the 1991 Japan Series, but the Carp fell in 7 games to Seibu. He made his last All-Star team in 1992, when he hit .233/.347/.250 to end his career. After his playing career ended, Tatsukawa was a baseball commentator and a coach. He managed the Carp in 1999, succeeding Toshiyuki Mimura and going 57-77 to finish 5th. In 2000, the club was again 5th (65-70-1) and he was canned in favor of Koji Yamamoto. He later became the battery coach for the Hanshin Tigers in 2003 and for the Chunichi Dragons from 2014 to 2015. The Softbank Hawks named him their bench coach from 2017 to 2018

Overall, Tatsukawa played 1,334 NPB games and hit .246/.317/.325 with 51 HR, 311 runs and 358 RBI.

Sources

• Japanese Baseball Database
• Wiki Japan
• http://www.japanbaseballdaily.com