Kojiro Machida

Kojiro Machida (町田 公二郎)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 187 lb.
• School Senshu University
• High School Meitoku Gijuku High School

• Born December 11, 1969 in Kochi, Kochi Japan

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Biographical Information

Outfielder and first baseman Kojiro Machida played 15 seasons in Nippon Pro Baseball, from 1992 to 2006. The first 13 were with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Pacific League, and the final two with the Hanshin Tigers, in the same circuit. His entire career was in the top Japanese level - he never played a single game in the minor leagues. He appeared in one Japan Series - in 2005 Japan Series with the Hanshin Tigers, who were swept in four games by the Chiba Lotte Marines.

He was never a regular during his long career, as his highest number of at-bats was 276, in his second season in 1993. He had some good power, with a career .431 slugging percentage, but his batting average was .251 and he was mostly a pinch-hitter and a platoon outfielder. It was in fact as a pinch-hitter that he had the greatest achievement of his career. It came in 1996, when he had a hit in 9 consecutive at-bats in the role, setting a record with his 9th successful appearance on September 11th. He also holds the all-time Japanese career record for home runs by a pinch-hitter with 20. He also holds a record with a pinch homer in nine consecutive seasons. He earned the nickname "The God of Pinch-Hitting" and would have had 21 pinch-homers except for a controversial call on June 20, 1999. In that game, pinch-hitting for Teruhiro Higashide in the 5th inning, he wrapped a ball around the left foul pole off Takeo Kawamura of the Yokohama BayStars. However, the umpires called it a foul ball in spite of vehement protests by Hiroshima's coaching staff, that went on for ten minutes, and there was no instant replay that could convince the umpires they had blown the call. The play remains famous in Japanese annals as the "Ghost home run".

After his playing career, he was a hitting coach in NPB for both Hiroshima and Hanshin, and then as a manager in Japan's industrial leagues. He coached for Hanshin's ni-gun squad from 2007 to 2010 and for Hiroshima in the Pacific League in 2011 and 2012.

He was a star player at Senshu University and in 1990 was on the Japanese national team roster for the 1990 Goodwill Games, where Japan won the Silver Medal, and the 1990 Asian Games, where it finished third. He was asked by the Japanese Baseball Federation to opt out of the 1991 NPB draft in order to be eligible for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, but he declined as he wanted to turn pro - and indeed Hiroshima selected him in the draft's first round and granted him the largest contract it had ever offered a first-year player. He was a pitcher in high school before an elbow injury forced him to become a position player. In addition to the outfield and first base, he also played some second and third base at the top level.