Kenichiro Kawamura

Kenichiro Kawamura (河村 健一郎)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 185 lbs.

• School Shibaura Institute of Technology
• High School Sakuragaoka High School

• Born February 26, 1948 in Yanai, Yamaguchi Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kenichiro Kawamura caught in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years.

Kawamura was signed by the Hankyu Braves in 1971, and he primarily stayed in the NPB Farm League in his first two seasons, only playing 9 games with the big club. His first NPB hit was off Takenori Emoto and his first homer against Satomi Bando. As the backup behind Shinji Nakazawa, he hit .265/.308/.310 in 1974, then his batting line was .271/.313/.412 in 1975. He was 4-for-15 in the 1975 Nippon Series, and the Braves beat the Hiroshima Carp in 6 games. Because of his solid batting, the Braves sometimes used him as a first baseman or designated hitter.

The Yamauchi native was selected into the 1976 NPB All-Star Games, but he didn't get any at-bats. He ended up hitting .271/.313/.412 with 6 homers in 1976, and he was 0-for-2 in the 1976 Nippon Series. Kawamura's batting line was .282/.312/.442 in 1977, and he hit .283/.321/.538 in 1978 then .259/.288/.466 in 1979. As the starting designated hitter in 1980, Kawamura crushed a career-high 13 homers with a .260/.335/.422 batting line. However, he slumped to .221/.274/.309 in 1981, then he announced his retirement in 1982. He then coached the Braves from 1983 to 1994, the Yomiuri Giants from 1995 to 1997, the Chunichi Dragons in 2004 and the Hanshin Tigers in 2013.

Overall, Kawamura hit .267/.317/.419 with 354 hits and 49 homers in 11 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1976 NPB All Star Game