Kazuhiko Ushijima

Kazuhiko Ushijima (牛島 和彦)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 154 lbs.
• High School Naniwa Shogyo High School
• Born April 13, 1961 in Nara Prefecture Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Kazuhiko Ushijima pitched 14 years and collected more than 100 saves in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Ushijima was drafted by the Chunichi Dragons in the first round of the 1979 NPB draft. He spent most of the 1980 season in the NPB Farm Leagues, then became one of the most important relievers for the Dragons in 1981. He had a solid 2.76 ERA in 51 appearances. Ushijima succeeded Tatsuo Komatsu to become the closer of the Dragons in 1982, and he notched 17 saves in 53 appearances with an elite 1.40 ERA. In the 1982 Nippon Series, he allowed a run in Game 2, then collected the win over Osamu Higashio in Game 3 with 2 shutout innings after relieving Takamasa Suzuki in the 8th inning. He collected a save in Game 3, and allowed a run in a inning in Game 6. The Dragons was beaten by the Seibu Lions in 6 games.

The Osaka native was turned into a starter in 1983 but he struggled with the new role. Although he still collected 10 wins, his ERA rose to 4.50, and he came back to the closer spot again the next year. Ushijima was selected into the 1984 NPB All-Star Game. He allowed 2 unearned runs in Game 1, then collected the save for Suguru Egawa with a shutout inning and 2 Ks in Game 3. He ended up grabbing a league-leading 29 saves with a 2.74 ERA in the 1984 season, but Kazuyuki Yamamoto beat him to win the Fireman of the Year because he had more wins (the award totaled wins and saves).

Ushijima tried to become a starter again in 1985, but his ERA rose to 3.48 and he came back to the bullpen in the middle of the season. He collected 16 saves with a 2.78 ERA in 1986, and ranked 4th in the Central League in saves (7 behind Akio Saito). After this year, the Dragons acquired superstar Hiromitsu Ochiai from the Lotte Orions, and Ushijima went to the Lotte with three teammates in return; they were Seiji Kamikawa, Sadaharu Hiranuma and Shigeru Kuwata.

After transferring to the Orions, Ushijima had a career year in the 1987 season. He had 24 saves with an elite 1.29 ERA, and finally won his only Fireman of the Year award. He also attended the 1987 NPB All-Star Game, notched the save with 2 shutout innings in Game 1 for the Pacific League and collected another save in Game 3. The talented closer was selected into the All-Star Game again in the next summer. He collected a save with a shutout inning in Game 1, but pinch-hitter Katsuhito Mizuno's walk-off sacrifice fly caused him to get the loss in the 12th inning of Game 3 (Mizuno was a pitcher in regular seasons, but CL had used all of their batters in extra innings). Ushijima ended up leading the PL in saves again with 25 saves in 1988, but Masato Yoshii robbed him of the Fireman of the Year award.

Ushijima tried to enter the rotation for the third time in 1989, and he finally had success in that job. He went 12-5 with a 3.63 ERA in 21 starts, and also joined the 1989 NPB All-Star Game; he pitched 2 shutout innings in Game 1. However, the 1989 season was the last productive season for Ushijima. He suffered a blood circulation injury, and only pitched 22 games combined in the next four seasons. Ushijima announced his retirement after the 1993 season, and became a broadcaster. The Yokohama BayStars hired him to become their new manager in 2005, and he led the team improved to 69-70 in the 2005 season. However, the BayStars only had a .408 winning percentage in 2006, and he left the team.

Overall, Ushijima was 53-64, notched 126 saves with a 3.26 ERA, 746 strikeouts and pitched 905 innings in 14 years in the NPB. Through 2023, he was still 27th in NPB annals in saves, between Yuito Mori and Eddie Gaillard.

Related Sites

• Stats at japanesebaseball.com
• Wiki Japan
• NPB bio