Kotaro Mori

Kotaro Mori (森 弘太郎)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 132 lbs.

• School Kansai University
• High School Ichinomiya High School

• Born May 29, 1915 in Ichinomiya, Aichi, Japan
• Died September 1, 1966

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kotaro Mori played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 12 years.

Mori was signed by the Hankyu club in 1937, and he only pitched 2 games in his rookie year. He had a 1.57 ERA in 45 1/3 innings the spring of 1938, but he only had 2 appearances again in the fall season. Mori was named one of their regular starters in 1939, and went 7-3 with a 2.69 ERA in 13 starts. He finally broke out in 1940, having a 28-13 record with a 1.69 ERA. He ranked 3rd in wins in the Japanese Professional Baseball League (10 behind Victor Starffin), 3rd in ERA (0.36 behind Jiro Noguchi) and 3rd in complete games (13 behind Tadashi Kameda). He pitched against Tadashi Wakabayashi in Manchuria on August 11 (the first oversea series in NPB history), and they only used 157 pitches combined, setting the NPB record.

The Ichinomiya native was one of the most dominant pitchers in 1941. He collected a league-leading 30 wins with a 0.89 ERA, ranked 2nd in ERA (.009 behind Jiro Noguchi), 4th in complete games (8 behind Isamu Fukushi) and 8th in strikeouts (94 behind Hiroshi Nakao). He completed a combined no-hitter with Takashi Eda on August 2, and also pitched one independently on October 27. There was no other pitcher who had done that combo as of 2023. Mori was still reliable as he was 19-17 with a 1.31 ERA in 1942, and he ranked 8th in wins (21 behind Noguchi). However, he only pitched 8 games in 1943, and World War II disrupted his career.

After returning from the war, Mori was not Hankyu's ace like before. He was 2-3 with a 4.64 ERA in 1946, then recorded a 1.94 ERA in 64 1/3 innings in 1947. Mori pitched 30 games with a 7-8 record and a 2.50 ERA in 1948, then he jumped to the Tokyu Flyers. His ERA rose to 4.07 in 1949, and he was signed by the Nishi-Nippon Pirates when the two leagues were split in 1950. Mori was 5-11 with a 3.66 ERA in that season, then he announced his retirement.

Overall, Mori was 112-78 with a 1.92 ERA, struck out 441 and pitched 1,805 1/3 innings in 12 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio