Keisaburo Tanoue

Keisaburo Tanoue (田之上 慶三郎)

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

• High School Ibusuki Shogyo High School

• Born September 17, 1971 in Ibusuki, Kagoshima, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Keisaburo Tanoue pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years.

Tanoue went undrafted in the 1989 NPB draft, and the Daiei Hawks signed him. He primarily stayed in the NPB Farm League in his first 7 seasons, and he only pitched 2 games with the big club in 1996. The Hawks sent him to the Salinas Spurs in 1990; he had a 4.58 ERA and no decisions in ten outings. Tanoue was a swingman in 1997, and he was 4-9 with a 5.09 ERA. The Hawks then demoted him, so he only had 19 appearances combined in the next two seasons.

The Kagoshima native entered the rotation in 2000, and he was 8-4 with a 3.86 ERA. In the 2000 Nippon Series, Tanoue pitched a shutout inning in both Game 1 and Game 2. He then started in Game 4, and he pitched 5 innings with 2 runs allowed. However, Masaki Saito outdueled him as he pitched 6 2/3 innings and he only gave up a run, so Tanoue got the loss. The Hawks lost to the Yomiuri Giants in 6 games. Tanoue had his career year in 2001, and he had a 13-7 record with a 3.77 ERA. He led the league in winning percentage, ranked 3rd in wins (2 behind Daisuke Matsuzaka), 6th in ERA (.51 behind Nate Minchey) and 8th in strikeouts (115 behind Matsuzaka). He also won the Most Valuable Battery Award with Kenji Johjima.

Tanoue was named the opening day starter in 2002, and he was 6-9 with a 3.93 ERA. However, that was his last productive season. He suffered from injuries, so he only had 3 appearances in the next two seasons. Since the Hawks had some talented starters like Toshiya Sugiuchi and Hayato Terahara, Tanoue didn't have many chances to start. He became a reliever, but he only pitched 18 games combined in the next three seasons, then he announced his retirement after the 2007 season. He then coached the Hawks from 2008 to 2012 and from 2015 to 2023. He also coached the Nippon Ham Fighters from 2013 to 2014.

Tanoue's repertoire included a fastball (peak 92.6 mph) and curveball.

Overall, Tanoue was 39-42 with a 4.21 ERA, struck out 366 and pitched 657 innings in 11 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio