Ryuji Kimura

Ryuji Kimura (木村 龍治)

• Bats Right Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 170 lb.

• School Aoyama Gakuin University
• High School Chukyo University Senior High School

• Born September 1, 1970 in Nagoya, Aichi Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Ryuji Kimura played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 10 years.

Kimura was 21-11 with a 2.50 ERA in his college career, and he was drafted by the Yomiuri Giants in the 4th round of the 1992 NPB draft. He had a 3.00 ERA in 16 games in 1993, but he only pitched 19 games combined for the top team in the next five seasons despite his leading the Eastern Leagues in wins in 1995. Kimura finally broke out in 1999, and he had a 3.77 ERA in 53 appearances. He was 6th in games pitched in the Central League, between Shinobu Fukuhara and Tatsuki Yamamoto. Kimura then recorded a 2.83 ERA in 54 appearances in 2000, and he ranked 5th in games (tied with Shoji Toyama). He pitched a shutout inning in the 2000 Nippon Series Game 1, and he relieved Darrell May in the 5th inning of Game 2. However, he allowed a single to Noriyoshi Omichi and a double to Hiroki Kokubo, and Kazuhiro Hiramatsu replaced him; both runners scored due to Kenji Johjima's double. Kimura completed 2/3 of a shutout inning in Game 6, and the Giants beat the Daiei Hawks. However, his ERA rose to 5.59 in 20 games in 2001, and he only pitched 10 more games for the big club before he announced his retirement in 2004. He later coached in Giants system from 2005 to 2019, and he was the pitching coach for the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2022.

Overall, Kimura was 10-5 with a 4.21 ERA, struck out 124 and pitched 186 innings in 10 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan