Kazumi Sonokawa

Kazumi Sonokawa (園川 一美)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 160 lbs.

• School Nippon Sport Science University
• High School Kyushu Gakuin High School

• Born May 1, 1963 in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kazumi Sonokawa pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 14 years.

Sonokawa was 33-13 with a 1.40 ERA in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area University Baseball League, and he set the league record with 19 strikeouts in a game. The Lotte Orions, Nankai Hawks, Yomiuri Giants and Yakult Swallows all drafted him in the second round of the 1985 NPB draft, and the Orions won the rights for him. Sonokawa only pitched 3 games in his rookie year, and he entered the rotation in 1987. He allowed 13 runs in a game on September 2 against the Hawks, and he set the NPB record for most runs allowed in a complete game. He was 8-9 with a 3.55 ERA in the 1987 season.

The Kumamoto native had a 10-15 record with a 4.34 ERA in 1988, and he led the Pacific League in losses. He then slumped to 7-12 with a 6.10 ERA in 1989, and he became the second player in NPB history to qualify for the ERA title while his ERA is higher than 6 (the first player was Tatsumi Murata). Sonokawa was 2-6 with a 5.20 ERA in 1990, then he improved to 5-11 with a 3.78 ERA in 1991. He tied Hideo Nomo and Yukinaga Maeda for 5th in losses in 1991. Sonokawa had a 7-9 record with a 3.96 ERA in 1992, and he was 7th in strikeouts (between Satoru Komiyama and Kimiyasu Kudo).

In 1993, Sonokawa was 9-15 with a 4.16 ERA and led the league in losses again. He was 10th in complete games (9 behind Koji Noda and Yukihiro Nishizaki) and 6th in strikeouts (149, between Nobuyuki Hoshino and Takehiro Ishii). Sonokawa was 7-6 with a 4.22 ERA in 1994, then he went 8-9 with a 3.52 ERA in 1995. He slumped to 0-7 with a 5.45 ERA in 1996, and his ERA was 4.88 with a 4-8 record in 1997. After going 5-4 with a 3.89 ERA in 1998, Sonokawa announced his retirement in 1999. He coached the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2000 and from 2003 to 2007.

Overall, Sonokawa was 76-115 with a 4.32 ERA, struck out 1,169 and pitched 1,543 1/3 innings in 14 years in NPB. As of 2023, he ranked 75th in losses in NPB, tied with Kenji Furusawa.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio