Shigekazu Mori

Shigekazu Mori (森 繁和)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 178 lb.

• School Komazawa University
• High School Komazawa University High School

• Born November 18, 1954 in Chosei-gun, Chiba Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shigekazu Mori was a two-time All-Star in Nippon Pro Baseball and was a star in the 1978 Amateur World Series.

Mori set a Tokyo Metropolitan University League record with 76 strikeouts in the spring of 1976. The Chiba Lotte Marines drafted him in the first round of the 1976 NPB draft, but he turned them down and moved on to Sumitomo Kinzoku in the industrial leagues. He had the best record in the 1977 Intercontinental Cup at 4-0 as Japan won a Bronze Medal. In the 1978 Amateur World Series, the right-hander went 4-0 with a 0.28 ERA; in 32 2/3 IP, he allowed 11 hits and struck out 40. He tied Dong-won Choi for the most wins, tied for the most saves (1), was 5th in ERA and was second to Choi in strikeouts. The Seibu Lions picked him in the first round of the 1978 NPB draft.

The Chiba native had an abysmal rookie season, going 5-16 with 7 saves and a 4.52 ERA in 1979. He led the Pacific League in runs allowed (120) and earned runs allowed (102). He was one loss behind PL leader Tomotaka Sugiyama. Mori went 10-14 with 7 saves and a 4.70 ERA in 1980. He improved to 14-11, 3.78 in 1981, and he was 4th in wins (tied with Kazumi Takahashi and Shinichi Yamauchi) and 8th in strikeouts (tied with Masayuki Matsunuma). Mori was also selected into the 1981 NPB All-Star Game, and he completed a shutout inning in Game 1. He then relieved Yutaro Imai in Game 2, but he gave up a RBI double to Kiyoshi Nakahata.

During the 1982 season, manager Tatsuro Hirooka moved Mori from starter to relief. He went 10-2 with 10 saves and a 3.18 ERA, allowing only 81 hits in 101 2/3 IP. He was 4th in saves, between Yoshinori Sato and Hisashi Yamada. In the 1982 Japan Series, he struggled, allowing 6 hits, 3 walks and 2 runs in 2 1/3 IP but Seibu still won its first Japan Series ever. Mori did better at the plate, doubling his lone time up and scoring a run. As the Pacific League uses a DH, it was the only plate appearance of Mori's career.

Mori was selected into the 1983 NPB All-Star Game, and he completed 2 shutout innings in Game 1. He pitched 1 2/3 shutout innings with two strikeouts in Game 3, and he got the win over Suguru Egawa. Mori was 5-5 with 34 saves and a 1.48 ERA in 1983, allowing only 53 hits in 85 innings. He tied Yutaka Enatsu for the PL lead in saves and tied Shoji Kawahara for the lead with 59 appearances. His 39 save points led the league and earned him Fireman of the Year honors. Mori was much more hittable in 1984, when he posted a 6-7, 2.81 record with 13 saves. Mori was 6-6 with 8 saves and a 4.30 ERA in 1985. 1986 was a lost season after he had elbow cartilage surgery. He returned to the diamond in 1987 and was 1-0 with a 1.57 ERA in 22 games. In 21 outings in 1988, Mori went 0-1 with 2 saves and a 3.81 ERA then he announced his retirement.

After retiring as a player, Mori became a pitching coach. He coached for Seibu (1989-1999), the Nippon Ham Fighters (2000-2001), the Yokohama BayStars (2002-2003) and Chunichi Dragons (2004-2011 and again from 2014-2016). In August 2016, he replaced Motonobu Tanishige as Chunichi's skipper. He was 59-79-5 in his first full season at the reigns, 2017. He went 63-78-2 in 2018 then was replaced by Tsuyoshi Yoda.

Overall, Mori was 57-62 with 82 saves and a 3.73 ERA in 344 games. In 939 innings, he had allowed 889 hits and 287 walks while fanning 455.

Sources

• Japan Baseball Daily by Gary Garland
• Defunct IBAF site
• Japanese Wikipedia entry