Yutaka Saotome

Yutaka Saotome (五月女 豊)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.

• High School Kanuma Shoko High School

• Born April 13, 1949 in Kanuma, Tochigi Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Yutaka Saotome played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years

Saotome was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in the first round of the 1972 NPB draft, and he had a 6.00 ERA in 4 games in 1973. His ERA was 3.00 in 9 games in 1974, then he pitched 10 games with a 3.46 ERA in 1975. The Tigers traded him with Teruo Suzuki to the Taiheiyo Club Lions for Shinnosuke Kataoka and Hirokazu Kato after that season, and he was 1-1 with a 3.67 ERA in 1976. Saotome went 2-4 with a 4.91 ERA in 1977, then he had a 2-2 record with a 3.35 ERA in 1978. He had a 3-1 record with a 4.23 ERA in 1979, but he only pitched 7 games in 1980 despite winning the ERA title in the minor Eastern League. The Lions released him after he spent the 1981 season in the minors, and the Taiyo Whales signed him. Saotome then pitched a career-high 58 games with a 3.56 ERA and a 6-3 record in 1982, and he was 4th in appearances in the Central League (between Osamu Fukuma and Yutaka Ono). Saotome's ERA was 5.71 in 26 games in 1983, and he announced his retirement after having a 3.42 ERA in 17 games in 1984.

Overall, Saotome was 18-17 with a 4.07 ERA, struck out 207 and pitched 475 innings in 11 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan