Taisuke Kobuchi

Taisuke Kobuchi (小淵 泰輔)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 184 lb.

• High School Miike Technical High School

• Born January 9, 1935 in Omuta, Fukuoka Japan
• Died April 1, 2011

BR register page

Biographical Information

Taisuke Kobuchi played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 13 years.

Kobuchi signed with the Nishitetsu Lions in 1957, and he hit .192/.260/.300 in 85 games in his first season. He got a hit against Takumi Otomo in the 1957 Nippon Series Game 5, and the Lions beat the Yomiuri Giants in 5 games. Kobuchi then had a .270/.338/.394 batting line in 1958, and he 1-for-5 in the 1958 Nippon Series with a double against Otomo in Game 5. The Lions beat the Giants again in 7 games. He slumped to .198/.298/.314 in 1959, and he hit for a cycle on August 6, 1960. Kobuchi ended up hitting .223/.293/.364 that season, and he was traded to the Chunichi Dragons for Hiroomi Oyane.

The Fukuoka native struggled again in 1961 as he hit .196/.256/.348, then he had a .359/.390/.769 batting line in 22 games in 1962. Kobuchi only got 7 at-bats in 1963, and the Dragons released him. He signed with the Kokutetsu Swallows, and he crushed 15 homers with a .306/.351/.469 batting line in 1964. Kobuchi was 5th in batting in the Central League, between Shigeo Nagashima and Takeshi Kuwata. He blasted a career-high 17 homers with a .246/.313/.403 batting line in 1965, and he led the league with 111 strikeouts. Kobuchi also tied Nagashima for 8th in homers, and he was 7th in steals (between Yoshio Yoshida and Motoo Ando). He had a .274/.326/.481 batting line with 10 homers in 1966, and he collected 12 homers with a .254/.335/.497 batting line in 1967. Kobuchi slumped to .217/.304/.329 in 1968, and he played 78 games with a .253/.307/.398 batting line in 1969. He then announced his retirement, and he coached the Swallows from 1970 to 1980.

Overall, Kobuchi hit .248/.315/.407 with 605 hits and 82 homers in 13 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan