Hajimu Tatsumi

Hajimu Tatsumi (巽 一)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 8", Weight 158 lbs.

• School Keio University
• High School Yokkaichi High School

• Born April 8, 1936 in Taki-gun, Mie Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hajimu Tatsumi pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years.

Tatsumi was signed by the Nishitetsu Lions in 1959, and he was 3-8 with a 4.78 ERA in his rookie year. He then improved to 8-13 with a 3.62 ERA in 1960, and he tied Kiyoshi Oishi and Hiroomi Oyane for 7th in the Pacific League in losses. He was also selected into the 1960 NPB All-Star Games, and he relieved Oishi in the 6th inning. He pitched 3 shutout innings in Game 3, and he crushed a solo home run against Tetsuya Yoneda in the 7th inning. That was the first home run by a pitcher in All-Star history. He was also the first player to go deep on the first pitch he saw in a NPB All-Star Game; it would be 8 years before Art Lopez was the second. Tatsumi was 8-5 with a 3.08 ERA in 1961, then he had a 1-10 record with a 3.82 ERA in 1962. He then missed most of the next two seasons due to injuries.

The Mie native came back in 1965, and he was 4-7 with a 3.25 ERA. He recorded a 4.50 ERA in 38 appearances (9 starts) in 1966, then he improved to 7-7 with a 2.58 ERA in 1967. He ranked 9th in ERA in 1967, between Kunio Jonouchi and Shigeyuki Takahashi. Tatsumi's ERA rose to 5.75 in 1968, and he struggled in 1969 as his ERA was 5.12 in 21 appearances. He only pitched 5 games in 1970 then he announced his retirement. He coached the Swallows from 1971 to 1980, and he was a scout for them from 1981 to 1999.

Overall, Tatsumi was 40-66 with a 3.69 ERA, struck out 684 and pitched 1,072 innings in 11 years in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• Bio
• 1960 NPB All-Star Game