Yusuke Torigoe

Yusuke Torigoe (鳥越 裕介)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 195 lb.

• School Meiji University
• High School Usuki High School

• Born July 1, 1971 in Usuki, Oita Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yusuke Torigoe played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 13 years.

Torigoe was drafted by the Chunichi Dragons in the 2nd round of the 1993 NPB draft, and he played 30 games with a .224/.278/.284 batting line in 1994. He hit .195/.260/.245 in 1995, and he improved to .276/.323/.384 in 1996. Torigoe was named Chunichi's starting shortstop in 1997, and he played 124 games with a .208/.269/.268 batting line. He also set the NPB record for highest fielding percentage as a shortstop with .997. However, Torigoe only went 2-for-27 in 1998, and he also missed one month due to a tax evasion scandal. The Dragons then traded him to the Daiei Hawks for Ryo Kawano.

The Oita native was 15-for-45 in 1999, and he appeared in two of five games in the 1999 Nippon Series; the Hawks beat the Dragons. He then played 115 games with a .243/.293/.318 batting line in 2000, and he went 3-for-18 in the 2000 Nippon Series. The Hawks lost to the Yomiuri Giants in 6 games. Torigoe struggled in 2001 as his batting line fell to .174/.241/.243, and he batted .251/.311/.335 with 3 triples in 2002. He then had a .212/.299/.250 batting line in 2003, and he had a 5-for-21 record in the 2003 Nippon Series. The Hawks beat the Hanshin Tigers in 7 games.

Torigoe only played 42 games with a .259/.286/.333 batting line in 2004, and he hit .237/.289/.288 in 2005. He was 9-for-37 in 2006, and he announced his retirement. He was the minor league fielding coach for the Hawks from 2007 to 2008, and he managed them from 2009 to 2010. Torigoe then served as fielding coach for their top team from 2011 to 2017, and he moved to the Chiba Lotte Marines as bench coach from 2018 to 2020. He was their minor league manager from 2021 to 2022, and he became the bench coach for the Seibu Lions in 2025.

Overall, Torigoe hit .226/.285/.294 with 504 hits and 21 homers in 13 seasons in NPB. He had fielded .977 in 774 games at SS, .991 in 121 at 2B and .946 in 106 at 3B.

Sources

• Wiki Japan