Kenichi Ryu

Kenichi Ryu (龍 憲一)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 143 lbs.

• High School Fukuoka University Ohori High School

• Born April 28, 1937 in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kenichi Ryu pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years.

Ryu was signed by the Toei Flyers in 1960, and he had a 3.21 ERA in 33 games in his rookie year. However, he only pitched two games in 1961 due to a right hand injury, and the Flyers sent him to the Hiroshima Carp. Ryu became an important part of the Carp's bullpen in 1962, and he pitched 60 games with a 3.29 ERA. He ranked 4th in appearances in the Central League, tied with Minoru Kakimoto. Ryu then led the league in games pitched in 1963 with 61, and he had a 9-16 record with a 4.52 ERA. He was 6th in losses, 6 behind Kiyoshi Oishi.

The Fukuoka native had a 8-7 record with a 4.17 ERA in 59 games in 1964, and he was 3rd in appearances (between Noboru Akiyama and Makoto Inagawa). Ryu improved to 18-13 with a 2.31 ERA in 64 games in 1965, and he set the team record for most appearances in a season (broken by Hiroki Watanabe in 1976). Ryu collected 17 wins as a reliever, and that is still the team record as of 2023. He ranked 7th in wins (tied with Gene Bacque), 8th in ERA (between Bacque and Shigeyuki Takahashi), 8th in innings (between Inagawa and Minoru Nakamura) and 2nd in appearances (5 behind Yukinori Miyata).

Ryu was selected into the 1966 NPB All-Star Games, and he surrendered a solo home run to Shoichi Busujima in 1 1/3 innings in Game 1 then he pitched a shutout inning in Game 2. He ended up 16-14 with a 2.85 ERA in 1966, ranking 5th in wins (tied with Hidetoshi Ikeda and Tsuneo Horiuchi) and 3rd in appearances (between Eiji Bando and Shiroku Ishido). He slumped to a 4.90 ERA in 33 games in 1967, then he had a 2.95 ERA in 34 games in 1968. Ryu pitched 20 games in 1969 and he recorded a 3.38 ERA, but he inly had 5 appearances in 1970 and he announced his retirement. He then coached the Carp in 1972 and from 1975 to 1987. He also coached Hiroshima University of Economics from 2010 to 2012.

Overall, Ryu was 60-68 with a 3.51 ERA, struck out 428 and pitched 1,184 innings in 11 years in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio
• 1966 NPB All-Star Game