Hachiro Yamamoto

Hachiro Yamamoto (山本 八郎)

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

• High School Naniwa Shogyo High School

• Born September 17, 1937 in Sakai, Osaka Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hachiro Yamamoto was a 4-tima All-Star in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Yamamoto was signed by the Toei Flyers in 1956, and he shared their starting catcher spot with Junzo Ando as a rookie. He hit .249/.266/.364 in his rookie year, then he had a .318/.330/.484 batting line in 1957. Yamamoto was also selected into the 1957 NPB All-Star Game, but he didn't get a single at-bat. He only played 82 games in 1957 because he fractured his right hand while batting on August 2. Yamamoto recovered in 1958 and he hit .282/.306/.456 with 8 homers. However, he had a fight with umpire Takayoshi Sumita on May 10, so he was suspend for 2 months. He was used as a third baseman in 1959, and he slumped to .228/.256/.357 in 66 games. On May 30, Yamamoto had a collision with catcher Masatoshi Kato while trying to score, and he had a fight with Kato so he was suspended for 3 months.

The Osaka native finally had a full season in 1960, and he hit .249/.278/.391 with 13 homers and 16 steals. He tied Akio Saionji and Yoji Tamatsukuri for 7th in steals in the Pacific League, and he was 9th in homers (19 behind Kazuhiro Yamauchi) and 10th in RBI (50 behind Yamauchi). Yamamoto was turned into a first baseman in 1961, and he hit .296/.333/.449 with 24 steals. He ranked 11th in batting (between Katsuya Nomura and Akitoshi Kodama), 6th in doubles (32, tied with Yamauchi) and 2nd in swipes (18 behind Yoshinori Hirose). He slumped to .232/.274/.332 in 1962, and he was 0-for-6 in the 1962 Nippon Series. The Flyers beat the Hanshin Tigers in 7 games, and Yamamoto won his only Nippon Series title.

Yamamoto had a conflict with manager Shigeru Mizuhara in 1962, so the Flyers sent him to the Kintetsu Buffaloes after the 1962 season. He bounced back after changing teams, hitting .280/.320/.476 with a career-high 22 homers in 1963. He led the league in caught stealing, ranking 4th in doubles (28, 5 behind Masahiro Doi), 8th in runs (tied with Junzo Sekine), 7th in dingers (tied with Kenji Koike and Masahiro Nakata) and 5th in steals (between Tamatsukuri and Koike). He was also selected into the 1963 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 1-for-6; the only hit was a solo home run against Yasuhiko Kawamura in the 8th inning of Game 3. He attended the All-Star Game again in the next summer, and he was 0-for-5. Yamamoti ended up hitting .262/.307/.400 in 1964, and he led the league with 7 triples, tied with Jack Ladra and Kunimitsu Yanoura. He was 7th in doubles (tied with Jack Bloomfield) and 6th in steals (between Kusuo Tanaka and Masuho Maeda).

In 1965, Yamamoto hit .274/.305/.402 with 15 homers and 20 steals. He was 4th in hits (tied with Doi) and 4th in steals (tied with Fujio Yamaguchi). Yamamoto also attended the 1965 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 1-for-5, with an infield hit against Gene Bacque in Game 2. When Carl Boles joined the team in 1966, Yamamoto was moved to right field, and he hit .262/.282/.392 with 8 homers. The Buffaloes released him after this season, and the Sankei Swallows picked him up. However, Yamamoto was 2-for-40 with the Swallows in 1967, and he announced his retirement. He became a commentator for Kansai Television after retiring, but he was fired after having a fight in a bar in 1968.

Overall, Yamamoto hit .267/.298/.412 with 1,100 hits, 163 steals and 113 homers in 12 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1965 NPB All Star Game