Hiroki Watanabe

Hiroki Watanabe (渡辺 弘基)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 171 lbs.

• School Asia University
• High School Hitachi Daiichi High School

• Born October 26, 1947 in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hiroki Watanabe pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 7 years.

Watanabe was drafted by the Toei Flyers in the third round of the 1969 NPB draft, but he refused to sign. The Hankyu Braves then selected him in the first round of the 1971 NPB draft, and he pitched 5 games with a 3.86 ERA in 1972. His ERA was 2.67 in 35 appearances in 1974 after staying in the ni-gun in 1973, then the Braves traded him with Yoshihiro Kodama and Yukinobu Miyamoto to the Hiroshima Carp for Shizuo Shiraishi and Yataro Oishi. Watanabe had a solid 1.85 ERA in 55 games in 1975, and he was 4th in appearances (12 behind Takamasa Suzuki) in the Central League. He pitched 3 2/3 shutout innings combined in 3 games in the 1975 Nippon Series, but the Carp were beaten by the Braves in 6 games.

The Fukuoka native then pitched a career-high 73 games with a 3.58 ERA in 1976, and he broke the CL record for most appearances in a season. Osamu Fukuma broke his league record in 1984, and Tsuyoshi Kikuchihara broke his team record in 2001. However, his ERA rose to 5.59 in 39 games in 1977, and he struggled in 1978 as his ERA was 5.66 in 33 games. Watanabe only pitched 9 games in 1979, then he announced his retirement.

Overall, Watanabe was 8-9 with a 3.51 ERA, struck out 160 and pitched 299 2/3 innings in 7 years in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio