Eiji Ochiai

From BR Bullpen

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Eiji Ochiai (落合 英二)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 11", Weight 167 lb.

BR Register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Eiji Ochiai was a two-time All-Star in 14 seasons pitching in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Ochiai won a MVP while in college; he was 8-13 with a 2.12 ERA for his collegiate career. He was picked to Japan's national collegiate All-Star team. He was with Japan when they won Silver at the 1990 Goodwill Games. In the 1990 Baseball World Cup, he was 2-0 but his 6.57 ERA was second-highest on the squad. He played for Japan when they were third in the 1990 Asian Games. His fastball was timed at the mid-90s, but he broke his elbow as a senior. The Chunichi Dragons still took him in the first round of the 1991 NPB draft after their first pick (Takashi Saitoh) fell to another team in the lottery. Ochiai had surgery in 1992 and missed the entire season.

As a rookie in 1993, he was 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 9 1/3 IP over 10 games. The first batter he fanned in NPB was Akira Eto. In 1994, Ochiai was 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA in 27 games but allowed a .280 average. He fell to 3-9, 4.76 with two saves and a .321 average allowed in 30 games (14 starts) in 1995. On April 27, he had a one-pitch loss, serving up a 10th-inning homer to Glenn Davis of the Hanshin Tigers. He tied for 9th in the Central League in losses that year.

Ochiai made strides in 1996 (4-6, Sv, 3.74, .263 opponent average). He had a 4-7, 3.66 record in 1997. In 1998, the right-hander moved full-time to the bullpen and was 4-6 with 5 saves and a 2.82 ERA in 55 games. He finished second in the Central League in games pitched, two behind Tatsuhiro Yuminaga. He won Middle Reliever of the Year while setting up for Dong-yeol Sun.

The Tochigi native had a one-pitch win in 1999, getting a double play ball from Makoto Imaoka of Hanshin; he was the first pitcher to have both a one-pitch win and one-pitch loss in NPB history. He also wound up with a one-pitch save and a no-pitch appearance (the game being called after he took the mound) in his career. He made his first All-Star team that year. In the second of the 1999 NPB All-Star Games, he relieved Kazuhiro Takeda in the 9th with a 9-5 lead over the Pacific League. He retired Hiroyuki Takagi, Yukio Tanaka and Kazuo Matsui in order to wrap up the game. For the season, he was 5-4 with two saves and a 2.79 ERA in 56 games, walking only 9 in 51 2/3 IP; he formed a stellar middle relief combo with Sang-hoon Lee and Hitoki Iwase while Sun was still the closer. Chunichi wound up winning the CL pennant. In the 1999 Japan Series, Chunichi fell to the Daiei Hawks in five; Ochiai pitched 3 games and allowed 3 hits, a walk and an unearned run in 2 1/3 IP.

In 2000, Ochiai was limited to 21 games and 19 2/3 IP (0-2, 2.75). He was 0-3 with two saves and a 1.73 ERA in 45 contests in 2001. He had a 1-2, 2.62 record in 37 games in 2002, allowing only a .218 average and .99 WHIP. During 2003, the veteran worked a career-high 61 games and was 7-0 with a save, 1.77 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with just 5 walks in 56 innings. He finished third in the league in appearances behind Ryota Igarashi and Kazuo Fukumori. He made his second All-Star team. In 2003 NPB All-Star Game 2, he relieved Hiroshi Kisanuki in the 7th inning with a 5-3 lead. He retired Takagi, Nobuhiko Matsunaka and Michihiro Ogasawara before Igarashi replaced him; the CL held on to the 5-3 score.

Eiji was 4-3 with 10 saves and a 2.45 ERA in 42 games in 2004. He tied Ken Kadokura for 6th in the CL in saves; Iwase was now the Dragons' closer, a job he held for years. In the 2004 Japan Series, he allowed 4 hits, 3 walks and 2 runs in 2 2/3 IP over 3 games; the Dragons fell to the Seibu Lions in seven. Ochiai was 2-1 with a 4.72 ERA in 2005 and gave up 4 runs in 4 1/3 IP in 2006.

In 463 games in NPB (44 starts), he was 37-45 with 24 saves, a 3.29 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. Through 2011, he was tied for 71st in save points (51, even with Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi), 63rd in walk average (between Yusaku Akimoto and Hiroshi Gondo; he walked 142 in his 675 innings) and tied Hiromi Makihara and Masahide Kobayashi for 100th in games pitched.

After his playing career ended, Ochiai was a TV baseball commentator for Chubu Nihon Broadcasting. From 2010 to 2012, he was pitching coach of the Samsung Lions in Korea; they won the 2011 Korean Series and 2012 Korean Series. He was hired as pitching coach of Taiwan's Brother Elephants for 2014 but opted instead to take another broadcasting job in Japan. After the '14 campaign, the Chiba Lotte Marines hired him as their pitching coach.

Sources[edit]

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