Tsunemi Tsuda

Tsunemi Tsuda (津田 恒実)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 173 lb.
• High School Nanyo Technical High School

• Born August 1, 1960 in Tsuno-gun, Yamaguchi Japan
• Died July 20, 1993 in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Tsunemi Tsuda was a five-time All-Star in 10 seasons with the Hiroshima Carp.

Tsuda threw a perfect game in high school. After playing for Kyowa Hakko in the industrial leagues, he was a first-round pick of the Carp in the 1981 NPB draft. Tsuda debuted in 1982, going 11-6 with a 3.88 ERA. He was named the Central League Rookie of the Year, and he ranked 9th in wins in the Central League (tied with Shigeru Kobayashi and Kazuhiko Kudo) and 8th in strikeouts (114, between Takashi Nishimoto and Kazuyuki Yamamoto). In 1983, Tsuda had no sophomore slump as he was 9-3 with a 3.07 ERA and making his first CL All-Star team. He started in the 1983 NPB All-Star Game 3, and he completed 3 shutout innings with 2 Ks (against Hiromitsu Ochiai and Terry Whitfield).

The Yamaguchi native fell to 3-4 with a save and a 4.64 ERA in 1984 and was even worse in 1985 at 2-3 with a save and a 6.64 ERA. On May 13, 1984, he hit a grand slam off Koji Torihara. Tsuda became the Carp's closer in 1986 and did very well, going 4-6 with 22 saves and a 2.08 ERA, striking out 81 in 69 1/3 IP while allowing only 44 hits. He saved game three and won game four of the 1986 Japan Series but Hiroshima fell to the Seibu Lions. Tsuda led the Carp with five appearances in the Series, tossing 5 1/3 shutout innings against a powerful offense featuring Koji Akiyama, Hiromichi Ishige and Kazuhiro Kiyohara. Tsuda was one save behind leader Akio Saito, and he was named NPB Comeback Player of the Year. He made his second CL All-Star team, and he pitched a shutout inning in the 1986 NPB All-Star Game 1 then added 3 strikeouts in 1 2/3 shutout innings in Game 3.

In 1987, Tsuda went 3-4 with 18 saves and a 1.64 ERA and was again an All-Star. He closed 1987 NPB All-Star Game 1 and 3 with a shutout inning. He was 2nd in saves (tied with Yoshitaka Katori) and 9th in appearances (47, between Osamu Fukuma and Susumu Mikoshiba). Tsunemi was selected into the 1988 NPB All-Star Game, and he struck out all three batters he faced (Junichi Fukura, Fujio Tamura and Yukio Tanaka) to get a save in Game 2. He was 5-9 with 20 saves and a 3.86 ERA in 1988. He was 3rd in saves, after Genji Kaku and Hiroaki Nakayama.

Tsuda had his best season in 1989 when he was 12-5 with 28 saves and only 50 hits allowed (4 homers) in 83 innings. He posted a 1.63 ERA and made his fifth All-Star team. He led the CL in both saves and save points and was named the league's Fireman of the Year for the only time. Tsuda was also 5th in wins (tied with Kazuhisa Kawaguchi, Hiromi Makihara and Naoyuki Naito) and 3rd in appearances (51, between Tadashi Kashima and Yutaka Matsumoto). The right-hander had edema of the brain in April 1990 and needed surgery. He only pitched 6 2/3 innings that year, allowing two runs. He was 0-1 with 3 runs in one inning in 1991. Tsuda died of a brain tumor two years later, only 32 years old. The story of his life was told in a Japanese TV drama. In 2012, he was voted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame alongside Manabu Kitabeppu on the Sportswriter Committee.

In 286 games in Nippon Pro Baseball, Tsuda was 49-41 with 90 saves and a 3.31 ERA, allowing 628 hits in 693 innings. As of 2025, he was 46th in saves in NPB history, between Motoyasu Kaneshiro and Yuji Nishino.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• Japan Baseball Daily