Kazuharu Abe

Kazuharu Abe (安部 和春)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 167 lb.
• High School Kitsuki High School, Hakata High School
• Born April 7, 1940 in Kitsuki, Oita Japan
• Died March 25, 2023

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kazuharu Abe pitched in Nippon Professional Baseball from 1962 to 1969.

Abe tried out for the Nishitetsu Lions while still a high-schooler. He impressed them enough that he wound up moving and going to Hakata High School to finish high school, allowing him to train with the Lions' minor league team. Mostly a reliever, he began his career with a 2.52 ERA in 25 innings for the Lions in 1962 but hurt his right thumb. Adjusting his delivery to compensate, his pitches got an odd break on them. He finished with a 10-1 record and a 1.75 mark (with a 1.00 WHIP) in 144 frames the next year. The IP qualification for the ERA title were high in that era in Japan so he did not come close, or he would have led the Pacific League by .61 over Yukihiro Kubo. He tied Tetsuya Yoneda, Masayuki Dobashi and Mutsuo Minagawa for 9th in the PL with 53 games pitched. In the 1963 Japan Series, he lost game 2 to the Yomiuri Giants in relief of Tsutomu Tanaka, won game 4 in relief of Tanaka and also appeared in games 6 and 7 as the Lions fell to the Giants. He allowed 11 hits, 5 walks and 10 runs (7 earned) in 9 1/3 IP for the Series, his lone Japan Series.

In 1964, he was 11-5 with a 2.75 ERA in 49 games (19 starts). He finished among the PL leaders in ERA (9th, between Kenshiro Saga and Mitsuhiro Adachi), shutouts (3, tied for 6th) and hit batsmen (9, tied for second). He would never match the success of 1963-1964 again. He had a 4-6, 3.60 record in 1965. He joined the Hanshin Tigers before the 1966 season in a trade for Masaru Honma. He was 5-5 with a 3.45 ERA that year, then 3-5 with a 3.12 ERA in 1967 and 2-3 with a 2.93 ERA in 1968. In his last season, he pitched one shutout inning in 1969.

Overall, he was 36-26 with a 2.75 ERA in 225 games (43 starts). He hit .117/.144/.141. After baseball, he ran a snack bar.

Sources

• Former Japan Baseball Daily website by Gary Garland