Kazuaki Ueda

Kazuaki Ueda (上田 和明)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 160 lb.

• School Keio University
• High School Yawatahama High School

• Born August 3, 1962 in Yawatahama, Ehime Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Kazuaki Ueda played in Nippon Pro Baseball and in the Olympics.

Ueda was on the Japanese squad that won the baseball demonstration at the 1984 Olympics. He was the first-round pick of the Yomiuri Giants in the 1984 NPB draft. He made his NPB debut as a defensive substitute at SS for Shigeru Ishiwata, batting against Koji Torihara in his first plate appearance. His first hit was off Kenichi Kajima. He was 2 for 11 with a walk, steal and two runs in 13 games as a rookie. He was 1 for 2 in 1987 and 0 for 2 with a run in 1988. He took Mitsunori Kakehata deep for his first NPB homer, hitting .183/.247/.268 in 81 plate appearances over 52 games in 1989. A utility man, he mainly backed up Masahiro Kawai at short. He did not play in the 1989 Japan Series, which Yomiuri won.

The Ehime native hit .209/.275/.327 in a career-high 130 plate appearances over 59 games in 1990, serving as Kawai's principal backup. He was 1 for 2 in the 1990 Japan Series, which the Giants dropped to the Seibu Lions. He was 10 for 39 with a homer and 3 walks in 1991 then hit .179/.214/.269 in 79 plate appearances and 40 games in 1992, still the #2 shortstop option after Kawai. He was 0 for 1 with a run in 7 games in 1993. In 203 NPB games (349 plate appearances), he had batted .202/.258/.295 with 54 runs, 18 RBI, 5 home runs and 10 steals in 15 tries.

Ueda has remained with Yomiuri in various capacities over the next couple decades: scout, coach, equipment manager and minor league coach.