Tetsuya Yamaguchi

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Tetsuya Yamaguchi (山口 鉄也)

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Biographical information[edit]

Tetsuya Yamaguchi was a pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants.

After high school, Yamaguchi was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2002, he was 1-1 with a 3.94 ERA in 21 games and fanned 39 batters in 32 innings for the Missoula Osprey. He was converted to a starter and posted a 6-7, 4.55 record in 2003, still with Missoula. In a third year with the Osprey, 2004, he fell to 0-5, 6.22 and allowed 81 hits in 55 innings for a .351 opponent average. The Diamondbacks then let him go. In the 2005 NPB draft, Yamaguchi was picked by the Yomiuri Giants in the first round of the development phase. He had a 1.61 ERA in the Eastern League for them that year. In 2007, the southpaw made his debut in Nippon Pro Baseball, going 2-0 with a 3.91 ERA in 32 games; used as a LOOGY, he only worked 25 1/3 IP. He was the first development phase to reach the big club in Yomiuri's history.

Yamaguchi excelled as a reliever in 2008. In 67 games and 73 2/3 IP, he allowed only 61 hits and 12 walks while striking out 69. He went 11-2 with two saves and a 2.32 ERA, and he was the first Giants reliever to win 10 games.. He tied Takehiko Oshimoto for third in the Central League in appearances, two behind leader Tomoyuki Kubota. He also tied Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi and Masahiro Yamamoto for 7th in victories, tied Ryo Watanabe for 6th in holds and was 7th in save points. He won the 2008 Central League Rookie of the Year Award, and he was the first development player to win this award. Yamaguchi fanned 7 in 4 2/3 scoreless innings in the 2008 Japan Series but Yomiuri lost to the Seibu Lions.

Tetsuya pitched four games for Samurai Japan when they won the 2009 World Baseball Classic, allowing one hit and one walk in 2 shutout innings. When he pitched in his 71st game of 2009, he broke Brian Sikorski's club record for appearances. Yamaguchi ended up having a solid 1.27 ERA in 73 appearances in 2009, and he led the league with 35 holds. He was 2nd in appearances, 2 behind Scott Atchison. Yamaguchi was also selected into the All-Star Game for the first time in his career, and he pitched a shutout inning in Game 1. He slumped to a 3.05 ERA with 20 holds in 73 appearances in 2010, and he was 2nd in appearances (tied with Kenichi Matsuoka) and 8th in holds (tied with Tatsuyoshi Masubuchi). Yamaguchi bounced back soon in 2011, and he recorded a solid 1.75 ERA in 60 relief outings with 25 holds. He was 3rd in holds, between Daiki Enokida and Matsuoka.

Yamaguchi then had his career year in 2012, and he tied Kazuhiro Sasaki's NPB record as he started the season with 24 consecutive games without allowing a run. His record ended due to Kenji Akashi's solo shot on June 5, and that was the only homer he allowed in the entire season. Yamaguchi ended up getting 44 holds with a 0.84 ERA in 72 appearances, and he led the league in holds and appearances. He was the first player in NPB history to pitch more than 60 games in 5 straight seasons. Yamaguchi was selected into the 2012 NPB All-Star Game, and he completed a shutout inning in Game 1. In the 2012 Nippon Series, he notched a hold with 2/3 of a shutout inning in Game 2, and he completed another two shutout innings to get a hold in Game 4. Yamaguchi got the save with a shutout inning in Game 6, and the Giants beat the Nippon Ham Fighters. He received 229 points in the CL MVP voting, and he was 3rd between Tetsuya Utsumi and Hayato Sakamoto.

The Yokohama native represented Japan in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, but he struggled as he allowed 5 runs in 4 1/3 innings in the entire event. He was still the most dominant setup man in NPB in 2013, and he notched 38 holds with a 1.22 ERA in 64 appearances. Yamaguchi was 3rd in games pitched (tied with Tetsuya Yamamoto) and 2nd in holds (2 behind Scott Mathieson). He broke Takuya Asao's NPB career holds record on April 20, and he also became the first pitcher in NPB history to reach 200 hold points, doing so on June 5. He attended the 2013 NPB All-Star Game, and he pitched a shutout inning in Game 3. Yamaguchi appeared in the Nippon Series again, and he got a hold with a shutout inning in Game 1. He added a shutout inning and a save in Game 4, and he pitched a shutout inning in Game 5. Yamaguchi notched a hold with 1 1/3 shutout innings in Game 6, but the Giants lost to the Fighters in 7 games. He received 42 points in the CL MVP voting, and he was 7th between Kenta Maeda and Yasuhiro Ogawa.

Yamaguchi became the first player in NPB history to reach 200 career holds, on June 6, 2014, and he was voted into the 2014 NPB All-Star Game; he pitched a shutout inning in Game 1. He notched 35 holds with a 3.04 ERA in 60 appearances that season, and he was 8th in games (tied with Shinobu Fukuhara) and 2nd in holds (3 behind Fukuhara). Yamaguchi's ERA was 2.73 in 60 games with 29 holds in 2015, and he ranked 4th in holds (between Katsuki Matayoshi and Mathieson) and 10th in appearances (tied with Hirokazu Sawamura). His ERA rose to 4.88 in 63 games with 19 holds in 2016, and he tied Sawamura for 7th in appearances. Yamaguchi only pitched 18 games with a 4.05 ERA in 2017, and he announced his retirement after staying in the minors for the entire 2018 season. He was the minor league pitching coach for the Giants from 2019 to 2021, and he became their pitching coach for the top team from 2021 to 2023.

Overall, Yamaguchi went 52-27 with a 2.40 ERA, collected 273 holds and 29 saves in 660 games, struck out 509 and pitched 639 2/3 innings in 11 seasons in NPB. As of 2024, he was 2nd in holds (139 behind Naoki Miyanishi) and 28th in appearances (between Hisashi Yamada and Noboru Akiyama).

Sources[edit]

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