Hiroshi Yagi

Hiroshi Yagi (八木 裕)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 170 lbs.

• High School Okayama Higashi Shogyo High School

• Born June 8, 1965 in Tamano, Okayama Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hiroshi Yagi played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 17 years.

Yagi was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in the third round of the 1986 NPB draft, and he hit .175/.202/.250 in 69 games in his rookie year. He was sent to the Fresno Suns of the California League in 1988, where he went by Richard Yagi. He hit .256/.366/.383 with 62 walks but made 39 errors between shortstop and third base. After returning to Japan, Yagi soon became the Tigers' starting shortstop, and he hit .214/.283/.465 with 16 homers in 1989. The Tigers moved him to third base in 1990, and Yagi improved to .250/.316/.500 with 28 homers. He ranked 4th in homers in the Central League, 6 behind Hiromitsu Ochiai. He extended his solid slugging, hitting .250/.317/.419 with 22 homers in 1991 and ranked 8th in homers (15 behind Ochiai).

The Gifu native was selected into the 1992 NPB All-Star Games, and he drew a walk in Game 1. Yagi was 2-for-4, with a RBI single off Yukinaga Maeda in the 2nd inning in Game 2, then added a two-run double against Tsutomu Sakai in the 6th inning; he drew another walk in Game 3. The young slugger was still solid in the regular season, and he recorded a .267/.359/.483 with 22 homers despite being moved to the outfield due to his terrible defense. Yagi hit .235/.297/.397 in 1993, but he suffered from injuries so he only hit .259/.315/.401 in 1994 and .267/.342/.406 in 1995 while playing 71 games in each season. When prospects Tsutomu Kameyama and Tsuyoshi Shinjo shined, Yagi completely lost his spot, and he was placed in the ni-gun for the entire 1996 season.

The new manager of the Tigers, Yoshio Yoshida, named Yagi their main pinch-hitter in 1997, and this decision saved his career. He hit .275/.371/.402 with 4 homers in 1997, then had a .282/.348/.388 batting line in 1998. His batting average reached .400 as a pinch-hitter, so he earned the nickname "God of Pinch-hitting". Yagi never had more than 150 at-bats since the 1998 season, but he was still a reliable pinch-hitter. He helped the Tigers win the 2003 CL pennant; he hit .286/.336/.343 in that season. He was 0-for-5 in the 2003 Nippon Series, and the Tigers were beaten by the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in 7 games. Yagi then announced his retirement after the 2006 season. He was a coach for the Tigers from 2009 to 2015, and became the batting coach for the Nippon Ham Fighters in 2023.

Overall, Yagi had hit .247/.319/.416 with 817 hits and 126 homers in 17 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1992 NPB All Star Game