Kenji Furusawa

From BR Bullpen

KenjiFurusawa.jpg

Kenji Furusawa (古沢 憲司)

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

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Kenji Furusawa was a two-time All-Star in a lengthy Japanese career which spanned a 21-year period.

Furusawa dropped out of high school and signed with the Hanshin Tigers at age 16. He allowed one run and 7 hits in 17 innings as a rookie in 1964. In 1965, the right-hander was 1-1 with a 3.63 ERA in 31 games, but walked 42 batters in 67 innings. He only pitched 24 1/3 innings in 1966, with a 5.25 ERA.

In 1967, Kenji went 2-1 with a 4.80 ERA in 21 games. He allowed 6 runs in 11 innings in 1968 then did not appear in a game for two years. The 23-year-old veteran returned to the diamond as a starting pitcher in 1971. He had a strong year, going 12-9 with a 2.05 ERA, allowing 149 hits in 171 1/3 IP. He finished third in the Central League in ERA behind Kazuhiro Fujimoto and Katsuji Sakai.

Furusawa faded in 1972, going 1-6 with a 5.20 ERA. He went 9-9 with a 3.41 ERA in 1973, allowing 107 hits in 132 1/3 IP. He had a 15-10, 3.23 record in 1974. He tossed four shutouts to tie Hiromu Matsuoka and Yoshiro Sotokoba for the Central League lead. He made his first All-Star team.

In 1975, the Ehime native went 9-10 with two saves and a 3.60 ERA. He had a 10-8, 3.35 record in 1976. Furusawa fell to 11-17, 4.00 in 1977 and led the CL in losses. He still made his second All-Star team and his 3 shutouts tied Senichi Hoshino, Shigeru Kobayashi and Takenori Emoto for the most shutouts in the circuit.

Furusawa's long tenure with Hanshin ended in 1978 when the 30-year-old posted a 4-16, 4.98 record with two saves. He was two losses behind CL leader Terushi Donoue. He was then involved in a blockbuster trade with superstar slugger Koichi Tabuchi to the Seibu Lions for Akinobu Mayumi, Masashi Takenouchi, Masafumi Takeda, Yoshiharu Wakana and 20 million yen.

Furusawa was just 4-14 with 5 saves and a 5.66 ERA for the 1979 Lions. In 1980, he went 3-6 with 5 saves and a 5.74 ERA in 34 games. He led the league with 7 wild pitches despite only hurling 80 innings. He was 1-4 with six saves and a 2.05 ERA in 1981.

Kenji moved to the Hiroshima Carp for 1982, going 1-1 with a 3.26 ERA in 29 games. He whiffed 61 and allowed 37 innings in 47 innings. He was 1-2 with 2 saves and a 4.14 ERA in 1983, giving up 37 hits in 50 innings. He finally wrapped up his career in 1984, going 3-1 with 35 hits allowed in 49 innings and a career-best 1.47 ERA in 30 games.

Overall, Furusawa pitched 543 games in Nippon Pro Baseball, going 87-115 with 25 saves and a 3.72 ERA.

After retiring as a player, Furusawa was a baseball commentator on Tokyo TV then coached for the Carp.

Primary Source: Japan Baseball Daily by Gary Garland