Katsuhito Mizuno

Katsuhito Mizuno (水野 雄仁)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 180 lbs.

• High School Ikeda High School

• Born September 3, 1965 in Anan, Tokushima, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Katsuhito Mizuno pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years.

Mizuno was selected by the Yomiuri Giants in the first round of the 1983 NPB draft, and he spent his first two years primarily in the NPB Farm Leagues, only pitching 7 games with the big club. He entered the rotation in 1986, and he was 8-6 with a 3.59 ERA. Mizuno then improved to 10-4 with a 2.61 ERA in 1987, and that was the only season he got more than 10 wins. In the 1987 Nippon Series, Mizuno pitched a shutout inning in Game 1, then he struck out four in 2 innings after relieving Suguru Egawa in the 7th inning of Game 3. He was named the starter of Game 6, and he allowed 2 runs in 4 innings. However, Kimiyasu Kudo completed the game for the opposition with only a run allowed, and the Seibu Lions won the title.

The Tokushima native was selected into the 1988 NPB All-Star Games, and he surrendered a solo shot to Greg Wells in 2 innings in Game 1. When the CL used all their batters in the 12th inning of Game 3, Mizuno was sent to pinch-hit for Hiroaki Nakayama, and he hit a walk-off sacrifice fly against Kazuhiko Ushijima. Mizuno ended up 6-6 with a 3.23 ERA in 1988, and he was 2-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 1989. In the 1989 Nippon Series, he pitched 3 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts in Game 3, then he closed the door and got the save with 2 shutout innings in Game 6. The Giants beat the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 7 games, and Mizuno won his first Nippon Series title.

Mizuno was turned into a reliever in 1990, and he adapted into that role very well. He collected 11 saves with a solid 1.97 ERA in 34 appearances, and he was 4th in saves (20 behind Tsuyoshi Yoda). He allowed 2 runs in 2 innings in 1990 Nippon Series Game 4, but the Giants were swept by the Lions. Mizuno was still solid in 1991, having a 2.51 ERA in 31 appearances with 5 wins. However, he suffered from a right elbow injury in 1992, and he missed the entire season.

In 1993, Mizuno came back and he had a 2.82 ERA in 43 appearances. His ERA rose to 5.05 in 1994, and he surrendered 2 runs in 1 1/3 innings in 1994 Nippon Series Game 1. The Giants beat the Lions in 6 games. Mizuno bounced bounced back in 1995 as his ERA was 3.09 in 25 appearances, and he pitched 10 games with a 3.14 ERA in 1996. He allowed a run in 2 1/3 innings combined in 3 games in the 1996 Nippon Series, but the Giants were beaten by the Orix BlueWave in 5 games. He then announced his retirement after the 1996 season, and he became a commenter and coach. He was a commentator for Fuji Television from 1997 to 1998, and he became the pitching coach for the Giants from 1999 to 2001 and from 2019 to 2020.

Overall, Mizuno was 39-29 with a 3.10 ERA, collected 17 saves in 265 games, struck out 519 and pitched 660 innings in 11 years in NPB.

Related Sites

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