Akihiro Togo

Akihiro Togo (十河 章浩)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8 1/2", Weight 143 lb.

• School Kinki University
• High School Kochi High School

• Born February 18, 1967 in Kochi Prefecture Japan

Olympics-Reference page

Biographical Information

Akihiro Togo played for the Japanese national team for several years, including winning a medal in the Olympics. He also won three Silver Medals and two non-Olympic Bronzes.

Togo helped Kinki University win the All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series. He was with Japan when they won Silver Medals in both the 1989 Intercontinental Cup and the 1989 Asian Championship. Backing up Kazuya Harai at short in the 1990 Baseball World Cup, he was 3 for 11 with 3 runs, 2 steals and 2 RBI, handling 10 chances error-free. He hit .357/.387/.536 in the 1991 Intercontinental Cup as Japan won the Silver Medal; he had 8 runs and 8 RBI in 8 games while fielding .962 and going 3-for-3 in steals. He was named the All-Star shortstop.

In the 1992 Olympics, he started at short for Japan. He fielded perfectly in 28 chances, scored 9 runs in 9 games and hit .250/.389/.321. His 7 walks tied Shinichi Sato for the team lead. In the Bronze Medal Game, he was 0 for 4 in a 8-3 win over Team USA. He helped Japan win the 1993 Asian Championship.

He was only 2 for 24 in the 1993 Intercontinental Cup, with one triple, four walks, four steals in five tries and a .964 fielding at SS, starting ahead of Makoto Imaoka. He tied Takayuki Takabayashi and Dante Powell for 3rd in the Cup in swipes. In the Bronze Medal Game, he was 0 for 4 with a walk in a win over Nicaragua In the 1994 Baseball World Cup, he backed up Naoki Matsumoto at 2B and Toshihisa Nishi at SS. He hit .188/.235/.375 and fielded .947. In the Bronze Medal Game, another win over Nicaragua, he was 1 for 4.

After his playing career ended, he coached and later managed Nippon Life, the team he had played for in the industrial leagues. In his second season as a manager, 2015, he guided them to their first title in 17 years.