Kiyoshi Yamada (01)

Kiyoshi Yamada (山田 潔)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 5", Weight 127 lbs.

• High School Matsuyama Commercial High School

• Born January 16, 1921 in Matsuyama, Ehime Japan
• Died June 23, 1984

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kiyoshi Yamada played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 15 years.

Yamada was signed by the Eagles club in 1938, and he hit .107/.187/.107 in the spring season. He struggled at the plate again in the fall season as his batting line was .146/.302/.146, and he had a .150/.323/.210 batting line in 1939. Yamada hit .156/.294/.160 in 1940, then he recorded a .203/.349/.263 line in 1941. Despite his low batting average, Yamada could draw plenty of walks, so his on-base percentage was not bad. He collected 95 walks with a .162/.359/.178 batting line in 1942, and that was the most in JPBL history.

The Matsuyama native was enlisted into the military, and he missed three seasons. He returned to the league in 1946, and he hit .190/.327/.247 for the Tokyo Giants. Yamada then jumped to the newly-founded National League, and he won the MVP in the fall season. When the league collapsed, he returned to the JPBL, signing with the Kinsei Stars. Yamada hit .175/.286/.184 in 1948, and he improved to .269/.365/.351 in 1949. He had a .236/.346/.297 batting line in 1950, but he then struggled again as his batting line declined to .205/.328/.252 in 1951.

With his solid defense and high on-base percentage, Yamada still secured the starting shortstop spot of the Stars even his batting average had been under the Mendoza line. He batted .243/.350/.306 in 1952, .192/.308/.267 in 1953 and .190/.316/.222 in 1954. Yamada played 116 games with a .215/.324/.273 batting line in 1955, then he recorded a .195/.295/.219 batting line in 1956. He announced his retirement after the 1956 season, and he became a coach. Yamada coached the Daimai Orions from 1958 to 1962 and the Taiyo Whales from 1968 to 1969. He managed the minor league team of Taiyo from 1970 to 1971, and he coached the Hiroshima Carp in 1973.

Overall, Yamada hit .198/.326/.245 with 789 hits and 24 triples in 15 years in NPB. As of 2023, he ranked 60th in walks in NPB history, between Yasuo Fujii and Tokuji Iida.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio