Hiroshi Tsuno

Hiroshi Tsuno (津野 浩)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 176 lbs.

• High School Kochi Shogyo High School

• Born August 6, 1965 in Takaoka-gun, Kochi, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hiroshi Tsuno pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 13 years.

Tsuno was selected by the Nippon Ham Fighters in the third round of the 1983 NPB draft, and he entered the rotation as a rookie. He was 4-8 with a 6.64 ERA in 1984, then he improved to 7-10 with a 4.42 ERA in 1985. Tsuno was also selected for the Pacific League squad for the 1985 NPB All-Star Games, but he allowed 2 runs in the 5th inning of Game 1 due to Yutaka Takagi's single, and he got the loss against the Central League. He was 10-10 with a 4.50 ERA in 1986, but he then slumped to 8-9 with a 5.10 ERA in 1987. The Fighters named him the opening day starter for 3 straight years starting from 1985.

The Kochi native broke out in 1988, having a 8-13 record with a 2.92 ERA. He was 7th in ERA, .54 behind Hirofumi Kono. Tsuno was also selected into the 1988 NPB All-Star Games, and he got the win in Game 1 as he struck out 4 (against Hiromitsu Ochiai, Akinobu Okada, Katsuhiko Kido and Kiyoshi Nakahata) in 3 shutout innings. However, Tsuno struggled in 1989 as he was 11-11 with a 5.50 ERA, then he only pitched 13 games with a 5.50 ERA in 1990 due to a right elbow injury. After having a 6.32 ERA in 1991, the Fighters traded him to the Hiroshima Carp for Akihito Kaneishi.

Tsuno pitched one game for the Carp in 1992, and he was released. The Chunichi Dragons signed him, and he bounced back in 1993 as his ERA was 3.22 in 27 appearances. The Dragons then traded him to the Chiba Lotte Marines, but Tsuno only had 21 appearances combined in 4 seasons for the Marines, then he announced his retirement after the 1997 season.

Overall, Tsuno was 53-71 with a 4.61 ERA, struck out 554 and pitched 1,020 2/3 innings in 13 years in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio
• 1988 NPB All-Star Game