Yukio Iida

Yukio Iida (飯田 幸夫)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 176 lb.

• High School Yokohama High School

• Born April 9, 1947 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yukio Iida played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 15 years.

Iida was called one of "the big three shortstops" in high school along with Taira Fujita and Toshiaki Atembo. He was drafted by the Kintetsu Buffaloes in the 4th round of the 1965 NPB draft, and he hit .177/.207/.203 in 59 games in his first season. Iida then crushed 4 homers with a .281/.325/.425 batting line in 1967, but he then slumped to .181/.241/.310 in 1968. He bounced back with a .228/.284/.386 batting line in 1969, and he played a career-high 125 games as Kintetsu's starting second baseman with a .237/.299/.361 batting line in 1970.

The Yokohama native hit .220/.275/.335 in 88 games in 1971, then the Buffaloes traded him to the Chunichi Dragons for Shuhei Ichieda. Iida struggled in 1972 as his batting line was .190/.269/.274, and he batted .268/.341/.451 in 68 games in 1973. He was 9-for-42 in 1974, and he appeared in the 1974 Nippon Series Game 1 as a pinch-hitter; the Dragons lost to the Lotte Orions in 6 games. Iida didn't get more than 50 at-bats a season again before the Dragons released him in 1978, and he went to the Taiyo Whales. He recorded a .217/.308/.435 batting line in 1979, and he announced his retirement after he went 4-for-30 in 1980. Iida later became the batting coach for the Dragons from 1982 to 1983 and for their minor team from 1984 to 1988 and from 1993 to 1994.

Overall, Iida hit .224/.281/.346 with 337 hits and 37 homers in 15 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan