Takashi Yamaguchi

Takashi Yamaguchi (山口 高志)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 171 lb.
• School Kansai University
• High School Shinko Municipal High School

• Born May 15, 1950 in Kobe, Hyogo Japan

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Biographical Information

Takashi Yamaguchi pitched eight seasons for the Hankyu Braves, making four All-Star teams in his brief career.

Yamaguchi was the most dominant pitcher ever in the history of the Kansai Big 6 University Baseball League, and he set the league records for most career wins and shutouts, most single-season wins, strikeouts and shutouts. He also set the record for most consecutive wins, shutouts and shutout innings, and he completed a no-hitter on October 28, 1971. He was 46-17 with 497 strikeouts in his college career. Yamaguchi played for Matsushita Electronic in the Japanese industrial leagues after college, and he was Hankyu's first-round pick in the 1974 NPB draft.

The Kobe native had a strong debut in 1975, going 12-13 but with a 2.93 ERA and only 169 hits in 203 IP. He struck out in two shutout innings in the 1975 NPB All-Star Game 1, and he notched a save with three shutout innings and three strikeouts in Game 3. He was 9th in the Pacific League in ERA (between Norihiro Mizutani and Naoki Takahashi), 5th in wins (tied with Koji Ota and Hisashi Yamada), 4th in losses (tied with Takahashi), 2nd in strikeouts (5 behind Osamu Higashio) and tied for the lead with four shutouts (even with Higashio, Akio Matsubara and Shinichi Yamauchi). He won the PL Rookie of the Year. Yamaguchi's success continued into the postseason. He went 1-0 with two saves and a 2.16 ERA in the 1975 Japan Series to win MVP honors; he won game three and saved games five and six. He fanned 21 in 24 2/3 IP for the Series.

In 1976, Yamaguchi went 12-10 with 9 saves and a 2.83 ERA though his 91 walks led the league. He finished 10th in ERA (between Keishi Suzuki and Yutaka Enatsu), 10th in wins (tied with Koichi Nakayama and Yoshinori Toda), 6th in complete games (tied with Higashio), 2nd in strikeouts (50 behind Choji Murata) and 2nd in saves (tied with Enatsu). Yamaguchi was also selected into the 1976 NPB All-Star Game, and he completed three shutout innings with four strikeouts (against Isao Harimoto, Koichi Tabuchi, Makoto Matsubara and Shigeru Takada) as the starter for the PL and got the win over the Central League's Shigeru Kobayashi; he pitched another shutout inning in Game 3. He won game one of the 1976 Japan Series and saved game three but lost game four; he had a 4.50 ERA for the Series and fanned 22 in 18 innings. He only allowed 12 hits but walked 14.

Yamaguchi had a similar campaign in 1977, going 10-12 with 11 saves and a 3.05 ERA. He allowed only 141 hits in 179 2/3 innings but walked a league-high 85. He was 8th in ERA (between Takahashi and Shinichi Yamauchi), 7th in losses (tied with Suzuki and Yamauchi), 7th in appearances (tied with Higashio), 3rd in strikeouts (between Suzuki and Takahashi) and 2nd in saves (8 behind Enatsu). In the 1977 Japan Series, Takashi allowed 5 runs in 7 1/3 IP in Game 3 after succeeding Shizuo Shiraishi, but he gave up a walk-off homer to Kazumasa Kono and got the loss. He made his third straight All-Star team, and he completed 3 1/3 innings without allowing a earned run in the 1977 NPB All-Star Game.

In 1978, Yamaguchi went 13-4 with 14 saves and a 2.78 ERA. He gave up 90 hits in 122 2/3 IP, and he was 6th in wins (tied with Yutaro Imai, Kazushi Saeki, Yoshinori Sato and Yutaka Yanagida). He made his last All-Star team, and he allowed 2 homers, to Koji Yamamoto and Masayuki Kakefu, in the 1978 NPB All-Star Game 3. He led the PL in saves and save points and was named Fireman of the Year. However, while the Braves celebrated their pennant in Arima Onsen, Yamaguchi suffered a back injury when he was playing golf, so he missed the 1978 Nippon Series; the Braves lost to the Yakult Swallows in 7 games.

Yamaguchi had a 1.97 ERA and 1-0 record in 1979; in 32 innings, he allowed only 19 hits but walked 23. He missed most of the season due to that back injury. In 1980, Takashi was 1-3 with three saves and a 5.14 ERA, walking 31 in 28 innings while only striking out twelve. He pitched just 3 games in 1981, with 11 runs in 9 innings. He wrapped up with a 1-1, 10.20 record in 1982, giving up 15 walks and 24 hits in 15 innings. After retiring as a player, Yamaguchi was a coach for the Orix BlueWave and Hanshin Tigers. He also scouted for them, signing Masanobu Okubo for Orix and Minoru Iwata for Hanshin.

Overall, despite his quick decline, Yamaguchi was 50-43 with 44 saves and a 3.18 ERA in 195 games in 8 seasons in NPB.

Source

• Japan Baseball Daily
• Wiki Japan