Yutaka Fukumoto

Yutaka Fukumoto (福本 豊)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 6", Weight 150 lb.
• High School Daitetsu High School

• Born November 7, 1947 in Osaka, Osaka Japan

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Biographical Information

Yutaka Fukumoto at one point held the world record for career and single-season stolen bases (Sophie Kurys stole more in the AAGPBL, but bases were much closer together as the league did not fully incorporate baseball rules).

Fukumoto played for the Panasonic in the Industrial league, and he was drafted by the Hankyu Braves in the seventh round in 1968 NPB draft. He was 11-for-39 in 1969, and he became one of Hankyu's starting outfielders in 1970. Fukumoto stole 75 bases in 90 tries, taking the first of 13 consecutive Pacific League stolen base titles and made the first of 17 All-Star teams (he was MVP of three All-Star games and his 19 steals in all-star action is a record). He also tied Toshizo Sakamoto for 6th in doubles with 23. In the 1970 NPB All-Star Games, Fukumoto appeared in the first two games as a pinch-runner, and he was retired by Jiro Ueda in his only at-bat in Game 3. He stole bases in 11 consecutive games in 1971, a record until Ukyo Shuto topped it 49 years later. Fukumoto ended up hitting .277/.351/.413 with 67 steals, and he led the league with 5 triples (tied with Hiroshi Takahashi). Fukumoto was 4-for-12 in the 1971 Nippon Series, and the Braves lost to the Yomiuri Giants in 5 games.

The speedy center fielder really hit the prime time in 1972 when the 24-year old hit .301/.384/.468 - more importantly, he swiped 106 bases in 131 tries, setting a then-world record to break Maury Wills's mark (he topped Akiteru Kono's 16-year-old Japanese record by 21). He stole five bases on May 3 against the Toei Flyers, a Pacific League record. That year, he had his legs insured for 100 million yen. Fukumoto also attended the 1972 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 2-for-6 with 3 times caught stealing. He scored 99 runs, leading the league; he would lead the Pacific in each of the eight seasons to follow and would lead 10 times in his career. He was named to the first of ten Best Nine teams, won the first of a record twelve consecutive NPB Gold Gloves and was named MVP for the only time in his career. He was 4-for-20 in the 1972 Nippon Series, and the Braves lost to the Giants in 5 games again.

The next season, Fukumoto stole 95, the second-best steal season in Nippon Pro Baseball history. He hit .306/.387/.483 with 10 triples, and he also led the league in triples, hits (152), runs (100) and doubles (29). Fukumoto ranked 8th in batting, between George Altman and Michiyo Arito. He was 1-for-2 with 2 steals in the 1973 NPB All-Star Game 2, and he won the MVP. In 1974, Fukumoto climbed a wall in Nishinomiya Stadium to take a home run away from Koichi Tabuchi during the 1974 NPB All-Star Game 3, and he won the MVP for that. He recorded a .327/.401/.447 batting line with 94 steals that season, and he led the league in hits (156), runs (84), steals and triples (7). He was also 3rd in batting, behind Isao Harimoto and Don Buford.

Fukumoto was still an outfielder in 1975, and he hit .259/.330/.389 with 63 steals. He was 3rd in doubles with 26, behind Matty Alou and Hiromitsu Kadota. Fukumoto was voted into the 1975 NPB All-Star Games, but he was hitless in 5 at-bats. He had a 5-for-28 record in the 1975 Nippon Series, and he won his first title as the Braves beat the Hiroshima Carp in 6 games. In 1976, he was named Japan Series MVP after leading the Braves to their second Japan Series victory in a row; he hit .407, with a game-winning solo home run against Clyde Wright in Game 6. Fukumoto was just the third player in NPB history to win the MVP in the regular season, All-Star Game and Nippon Series, following Hiroshi Oshita and Tetsuharu Kawakami. That year, he led the league with 73 walks, the first of six times he would lead in that statistic. His batting line was .282/.376/.415 with 9 triples, and he was 9th in batting (between Masaru Tomita and Yoshihito Oda), 3rd in hits (138, between Walt Williams and Kadota), 2nd in doubles (23, 2 behind Kadota) and 2nd in triples (4 behind Satoru Yoshioka).

The Osaka native was selected into the 1977 NPB All-Star Games, but he only got one hit in 10 at-bats. He had a .305/.366/.466 with 9 triples and 16 homers, and he again led the league in steals (61), runs (89), hits (165) and triples. Fukumoto was 7th in batting (between Tomita and Mitsuru Fujiwara) and 7th in doubles (21, tied with Bernie Williams, Robert Marcano, Hiroyuki Yamazaki and Tomita). At the age of 28, he broke Japan's all-time career stolen base record; the previous leader was Yoshinori Hirose with 596, still second all-time to Fukumoto. He again shined in the 1977 Nippon Series as he scored 6 runs with a 6-for-17 record, and the Braves beat the Giants in 5 games.

Fukumoto improved to .325/.399/.475 with 70 steals in 1978, and he led the league in runs (107), hits (171), doubles (35), triples (10), steals and walks (60). He was 2nd in batting, .029 behind batting title winner Kyosuke Sasaki. Fukumoto also attended the 1978 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 4-for-13 with 2 steals. He crushed 2 homers in the 1978 Nippon Series (against Hiromu Matsuoka in Game 2 and Tetsuo Nishii in Game 6) with a .214 batting average, but the Braves lost to the Yakult Swallows in 7 games. He collected 60 steals with a .288/.390/.483 batting line in 1979, and he went 2-for-10 in the 1979 NPB All-Star Games. Fukumoto led the league in runs (101), triples (9), steals and walks (79), and he ranked 7th in doubles (27), 10th in hits (142, between Fujiwara and Jinten Haku).

1980 was arguably Fukumoto's best all-around season - .321/.409/.522, a career-high 112 runs and 21 homers, 78 walks and 54 steals, a Gold Glove, Best Nine, leading the league in runs, doubles (29), walks and steals. He also set a record that season by being caught stealing three times in a game, and he set the PL record for most runs scored. He was 7th in batting (between Toru Ogawa and Hideji Kato) and 2nd in hits (166, 9 behind Leron Lee). Fukumoto also attended the 1980 NPB All-Star Games, and he scored once in each of Game 1 and 2 as a pinch-runner. He then crushed 14 homers with a .287/.386/.444 batting line in 1981, and he placed 3rd in runs (90, between Junichi Kashiwabara and Tony Solaita), 8th in hits (142, between Kashiwabara and Hiromitsu Ochiai) and 2nd in triples (7, tied with Tomohisa Shoji). He hit for a cycle on May 21 against the Lions

Fukumoto was 4-for-4 with 3 runs scored in the 1982 NPB All-Star Game 1, and he won the MVP. He tied the NPB record for most career All-Star MVPs. He had a .303/.413/.492 batting line in 1982, and he won his 13th, and the last stolen base title with 54 steals. He was 5th in batting (between Steve Ontiveros and Shinji Nakazawa), 2nd in doubles (31, 1 behind Ochiai) and 2nd in hits (144, tied with Takayuki Kono). On June 3, 1983 against the Seibu Lions, Fukumoto broke Lou Brock's world record for stolen bases in a career. As with his breaking of Wills' record and his on-the-wall catch, it took place in Nishinomiya Stadium. He ended up hitting .286/.391/.428 with 55 steals, and his 13-year streak for leading the league in stolen bases was ended by Daijiro Oishi. He still lead the league in triples (7), and he was 4th in doubles (26, tied with Hiromichi Ishige and Lee) and 8th in hits (141, between Ochiai and Koji Minoda).

On August 7, 1984, Fukumoto collected his 1,000 career steal. He was the first and only player in NPB history to reach that milestone. Fukumoto recorded a .258/.369/.367 batting line with 36 steals, and he was 2nd in steals (10 behind Oishi). He was 10-for-24 in the 1984 Nippon Series, and the Braves lost to the Carp in 7 games. The veteran collected a career-high 95 walks with a .287/.412/.433 batting line in 1985, and he was 7th in steals (23, between Hatsuhiko Tsuji and Yoshihiro Iwamoto) and 2nd in walks (6 behind Ochiai). Fukumoto slumped to .264/.346/.366 in 1986, and he played 101 games with a .287/.346/.418 batting line in 1987. Fukumoto had a .253/.369/.362 batting line in 92 games in 1988, and he announced his retirement. After retiring, Fukumoto was hired as a coach for the Orix Braves in 1989, where he stayed for three years, and for the Hanshin Tigers from 1998 to 1999. He also has worked as a baseball commentator. In 2002, he was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

Overall, Fukumoto hit .291/.379/.440 with 2,543 hits and 208 homers in 20 seasons in NPB. In addition to the previously mentioned records and honors, he holds the NPB record for career triples (115). As of 2025, he is tied for 5th all-time in hits (2,543, even with Sachio Kinugasa). His 1,656 career runs are second only to Sadaharu Oh and are the record for the Pacific League. He is 7th all-time with 1,234 walks and 8th with 2,401 games. He retired with 1,065 steals, 469 more than the #2 man in Japanese pro baseball history. He held the double record at 449 before it was broken in 2005 by Kazuyoshi Tatsunami. His 43 homers to lead off a game are also an NPB record, two ahead of Akinobu Mayumi.

Sources

• Wiki Japan