Toshimitsu Suetsugu

Toshimitsu Suetsugu (末次 利光)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 170 lb.

• School Chuo University
• High School Chinzei High School

• Born March 2, 1942 in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Toshimitsu Suetsugu was a five-time All-Star right fielder. He played for the "V-9" Yomiuri Giants that won a historic nine consecutive Japan Series.

Suetsugu was on the Japanese team in the 1964 Olympics exhibition. He debuted the year Yomiuri started the record-setting run, 1965; he was just 2 for 16 on the season and did not play in the Japan Series. He was a frequently-used sub in 1966, hitting .235/.259/.380. He was 2nd in triples in the Central League with 5, tying Morimichi Takagi, Shozo Shigematsu and Kunio Fukutomi. He went 3 for 12 with a double in the 1966 Japan Series, backing up Isao Shibata, Toshio Yanagida and Akira Kunimatsu in the outfield. In 1967, Suetsugu hit .244/.299/.409 in a similar role to '66. He only played one game in the 1967 Japan Series and did not bat. Up to 275 plate appearances and 111 games in 1968, Toshimitsu hit .247/.315/.360. He went 1 for 4 with a walk and two runs in the 1968 Japan Series, backing up Kunimatsu, Shibata and Shigeru Takada.

The Kumamoto native batted .257/.316/.409 in 1969, joining Takada, Shibata and Kunimatsu in the outfield mix on an even more regular basis. He was 2 for 18 in the 1969 Japan Series but was hit by two pitches and scored five runs, one less than team leader Tabata. Suetsugu hit .249/.288/.396 in 1970 then hit .278/.316/.389 in the 1970 Japan Series. By this point, he had joined Shibata and Takada in the starting outfield. He saw a reduced role in 1971 despite hitting .311/.343/.418. He then went 7 for 19 with a double, triple, homer and team-high 7 RBI in the 1971 Japan Series to steal the limelight from Sadaharu Oh, Shigeo Nagashima, Tsuneo Horiuchi, Shibata and Shozo Doi, taking Japan Series MVP honors.

In 1972, Suetsugu blasted a career-high 21 homers and hit .283/.312/.482. He was 9th in the CL in average (tied with Junichi Ikeda) and 10th in homers (tied with Tatsuhiko Kimata). He made his first All-Star team, and he went 1-for-5 in the 1972 NPB All-Star Games. He kept up his Japan Series dominance by homering twice in Game One off Hisashi Yamada. He hit .368/.429/.684 with 5 runs and 6 RBI in the five-game Series but lost MVP honors to Horiuchi this time. Toshimitsu produced at a .262/.307/.408 rate in 1973, and he tied Taira Fujita for 7th in RBI. He was selected into the 1973 NPB All-Star Game, and he was hitless in 2 at-bats. He hit .381/.435/.619 in the 1973 Japan Series for his third straight dominant Series; MVP honors again went to Horiuchi.

Suetsugu hit .316/.366/.480 with 25 doubles, 13 homers and 77 RBI in 1974. He ground into a league-worst 21 double plays but also finished 4th in average, trailing only Oh, Tatsuhiko Kimata and Makoto Matsubara. He was also 4th in hits (139, between Masayuki Nakatsuka and Bob Taylor), 6th in RBI (tied with Kenichi Yazawa) and 4th in doubles (tied with Kimata). He joined Gene Martin and Tsutomu Wakamatsu in the Best Nine outfield (the only time he was so honored) and made his 3rd All-Star team; he was 0-for-1 in each of the 1974 NPB All-Star Games. While he was having arguably his best year, Yomiuri's run of nine straight pennants came to an end, as the Chunichi Dragons edged them for the CL title.

The Hitoyoshi native fell to .252/.322/.394 in 1975 but made his 4th straight All-Star team. He again went 0-for-1 in each of three 1975 NPB All-Star Games. An All-Star for the fifth and final time in 1976, he rebounded to .281/.323/.403. He was 0-for-4 in first two 1976 NPB All-Star Games, and he finally got a hit against Choji Murata in Game 3. On June 8, he hit a two-out sayonara grand slam off Kazuyuki Yamamoto. He was 2 for 7 in the 1976 Japan Series and was on the losing side of a Japan Series for the only time. Suetsugu began 1977 by going 2 for 11 before being plunked by his teammate Masahiro Yanagida in his left eye while doing batting practice, ending his career at age 35. After retiring, Suetsugu became a coach for Yomiuri and also managed their ni-gun team.

Overall, Suetsugu hit .269/.316/.417 with 107 homers in 1,214 games in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• Japan Baseball Daily by Gary Garland