Tomochika Tsuboi

Tomochika Tsuboi (坪井 智哉)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 173 lb.

• School Aoyama Gakuin University
• High School PL Gakuen High School

• Born February 19, 1974 in Nagoya, Aichi Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Tomochika Tsuboi was a two-time All-Star outfielder. He was the son of Shinsaburo Tsuboi.

Tsuboi played for Toshiba in the industrial leagues after college. He won Silver with the Japanese national team in the 1997 Asian Championship. He was picked in the 4th round in the 1997 NPB draft by the Hanshin Tigers. Tomochika became Hanshin's leadoff hitter right away. His first hit was on April 11 against Makoto Kito. Tsuboi's first home run came off Kito on July 4 - it was an inside-the-park job, the third player ever to get their first home run on an inside-the-park shot. It also was a leadoff homer; the next Hanshin rookie to lead off a game with their first career homer was Shun Takayama 18 years later. Tsuboi hit .327/.383/.414 as a rookie, setting the highest rookie batting average since 1950. He was third in the Central League in average behind Takanori Suzuki and Tomonori Maeda. He set a Hanshin record for hits by a rookie, that would be by Takayama. It was the first time in NPB history that a rookie was qualified for the batting title without hitting any double play grounders.

The left-handed batter hit .304/.363/.392 with 30 doubles and 75 runs in 1999. He was 8th in the CL in average (between Koichi Ogata and Hideki Matsui), 5th in hits (161, between Toshio Haru and Mitsuru Manaka) and 6th in doubles. He batted .272/.338/.342 in 2000, and he was hit by 12 pitches, leading the circuit. Tsuboi made his first All-Star team, and he went 3-for-8 in the 2000 NPB All-Star Games with a 3-run shot against Takashi Ishii in Game 3. Tsuboi struggled in 2001, hitting just .219/.279/.352 in 43 games, his third straight season of decline. He only appeared in 24 contests in 2002 due to left elbow injury, and he batted .250/.301/.338. The Tigers then dealt Tsuboi to the Nippon Ham Fighters in exchange for Toshihiro Noguchi.

The deal rejuvenated Tsuboi's career. He hit .330/.396/.436 in 2003, and he became the first player ever to hit .300 their first year in both of Japan's top leagues. Tsuboi was voted into the 2003 NPB All-Star Games, but he was hitless in 5 games. He was 7th in the PL in average (between Kenji Johjima and Arihito Muramatsu), was 7th in OBP and tied Kazuo Matsui for 9th in steals (13). Tsuboi hit .284/.358/.451 in 2004. He had the first Nippon Ham hit after they moved to Sapporo, a double off Hisashi Iwakuma. He produced at a .309/.370/.366 rate in 2005. Injuries limited him to 25 games in 2006 and he hit .191/.224/.234. He was 0 for 1 in the 2006 Japan Series as Nippon Ham took its first title. He was released by Nippon Ham and resigned at a lower salary.

Tsuboi hit .283/.334/.322 in 2007 and was 1 for 3 in the 2007 Japan Series. He limited action in 2008, going 11 for 50 with a walk and two doubles. He hit .267/.292/.322 in 84 games and 156 plate appearances as a backup outfielder in 2009. Tsuboi suffered from sciatica again in 2010, and he only played 36 games with a .234/.298/.299 batting line. The Fighters then released him, and he signed with the Orix Buffaloes. Tsuboi only played 3 games for the top team in 2011, and he was released. He then went to the USA and signed with the San Rafael Pacifics, and he hit .282/.390/.353 in 24 games for them in 2012. He also went 5-for-20 with the Gary SouthShore RailCats and 6-for-30 with the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings, and his batting line was .256/.383/.385 in 12 games for the Edinburg Roadrunners in 2013. Tsuboi was 5-for-16 with the Lancaster Barnstormers in 2014, and he announced his retirement. He was the batting coach of the Yokohama BayStars from 2015 to 2021, and he became the minor league batting coach for the Yakult Swallows in 2025.

Overall, Tsuboi hit .292/.352/.379 with 976 hits and 32 homers in 14 seasons in NPB. He does not drink, which is rare in Japan.

Source

• Wiki Japan
• Japan Baseball Daily