Junichiro Muto

Junichiro Muto (武藤 潤一郎)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 172 lbs.

• School Senshu University
• High School Yoshiwara Shogyo High School

• Born March 15, 1969 in Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Junichiro Muto pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and the CPBL for 12 years combined.

Muto was drafted by the Chiba Lotte Marines in the first round of the 1992 NPB draft, but he spend his first three seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues, only pitching 23 games with the big club. He also went to the Visalia Oaks in 1995, and he was 1-2 with a 3.52 ERA there. Muto had a 5.03 ERA in 26 appearances in 1996, then he went 2-5 with a 4.66 ERA in 1996. He improved to 8-7 with a 3.76 ERA in 1998, and he ranked 9th in ERA in the Pacific League (between Kazuhiro Takeda and Hiroshi Shibakusa). Muto was 6-11 with a 3.46 ERA in 1999, and he tied Tsutomu Iwamoto and Hideo Koike for 2nd in losses.

The Shizuoka native slumped to 1-4 with a 5.18 ERA in 2000, and he only pitched one game in 2001. The Marines then traded him to the Nippon Ham Fighters for Junji Kuroki, and Muto had a 4.62 ERA in 25 games in 2002. After mainly staying in the ni-gun in 2003, Muto was released and the Seibu Lions picked him up. He never pitched any games for their big club, and the Lions released him after the 2004 season. The Brother Elephants then signed him, and Muto was 6-10 with a 3.51 ERA in 2005. He tied Ying-Chieh Lin for 2nd in losses, one behind Doug Linton. Muto announced his retirement after the 2005 season, and he became a coach. He coached the Yokohama BayStars from 2006 to 2008, and he was the pitching coach for the Sinon Bulls in 2009.

Overall, Muto was 17-33 with a 4.77 ERA, struck out 420 and pitched 539 2/3 innings in 11 years in the NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• Taiwan Baseball Wiki