Akinobu Kono

Akinobu Kono (河野 昭修)

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

• School Waseda University
• High School Shuyukan High School

• Born August 22, 1930 in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Japan
• Died August 8, 2011 in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Akinobu Kono played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 8 years.

Kono was signed by the Nishitetsu Lions when they were founded in 1950, but he mainly stayed in the NPB Farm Leagues in his first three seasons, only playing 9 games with the big club in 1952. He hit .224/.252/.318 as an infield utility man in 1953, and he was named their starting first baseman in 1954. Kono led the Pacific League with 21 sacrifice bunts in 1954, and his batting line was .264/.319/.404 with a career-high 13 homers. He was 4-for-24 in the 1954 Nippon Series, and the Lions were beaten by the Chunichi Dragons in 7 games. Kono batted .244/.314/.322 with a career-high 17 steals in 1955.

The Fukuoka native improved to .270/.330/.340 in 1956, and he was 6-for-23 in the 1956 Nippon Series. The Lions beat the Yomiuri Giants in 6 games, and Kono won his first Nippon Series title. He was then selected into the 1957 NPB All-Star Games, and he was 0-for-3. Kono ended up hitting .247/.289/.295 in 1957, and he won another title as the Lions beat the Giants again in the 1957 Nippon Series; he was 3-for-15, with a walk-off single against Motoshi Fujita in Game 2. He slumped to .201/.240/.223 in 1958, and he was 0-for-6 in the 1958 Nippon Series. He still won his third title as the Lions beat the Giants in 7 games. Kono's batting line fell to .147/.189/.221 in 1958, and he announced his retirement. He coached the Lions from 1960 to 1969.

Overall, Kono hit .243/.296/.322 with 557 hits and 20 homers in 8 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1957 NPB All Star Game