Koichi Ogata (ogatako01)

Koichi Ogata (緒方 耕一)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 140 lb.

• High School Kumamoto Kogyo High School

• Born September 2, 1968 in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Japan

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Koichi Ogata was born 3 months before Koichi Ogata of Hiroshima and rose to prominence first, but ended his career a decade sooner. Both Koichi Ogatas led the Central League in steals multiple times in the 1990s.

This Ogata was a 6th-round draft pick of the Yomiuri Giants in the 1986 NPB draft. He stole six bases in a game on August 21, 1988 in Eastern League play. He led the EL in steals that season.

He made his debut with Yomiuri in 1989 and hit a fine .308/.345/.403 in 76 games. He was the Giants CF in the 1989 Japan Series and stole 3 bases but only batted .154/.267/.154 in Yomiuri's win. In 1990, Koichi hit .259/.313/.362 with 33 steals in 45 tries and 70 runs scored. He led the CL in stolen bases. He went 1 for six in the 1990 Japan Series and injured his Achilles tendon.

In 1991, the 22-year-old produced at a .277/.342/.384 line but only was 4 for 10 in steals. He went 0 for 4 with a steal in the 1991 Japan Series, playing second base and the outfield. The next season, Koichi batted .286/.370/.387 and only went 7 for 16 in steal attempts.

Ogata batted .234/.286/.296 in 1993 but rebounded on the base-stealing end, swiping 24 while only getting nabbed five times. He led the CL for a second time. In 1994, he played outfield and second base and hit .230/.284/.299, stealing 9 bases in 11 tries. He was used primarily as a backup to Dan Gladden and Henry Cotto in the outfield and Daisuke Motoki at second. He did not a home run in the regular season. In the 1994 Japan Series, though, he hit a game five grand slam and went 3 for 9 overall as Yomiuri claimed another title.

In 1995, Ogata went 8 for 32 in 17 games as a backup second baseman. He played only one game the next year for Yomiuri, not batting and scoring one run. He wrapped up in 1997. At age 28, he hit .209/.284/.279 in 73 games, primarily as a defensive sub in the outfield.

Overall, Ogata had hit .263/.323/.351 in 685 games. He had stolen 96 bases in 137 tries.

After retiring, Koichi was a radio reporter for TBS and then coached for the Giants. He coached for Japan when they won the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Source: Japanbaseballdaily.com by Gary Garland