Koshiro Ito

From BR Bullpen

Koshiro Ito (伊藤 光四郎)

  • Bats Left, Throws Left
  • Height 5' 8", Weight 154 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Koshiro Ito played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 14 years. His brother was NPB catcher Minoru Nishikura.

Ito was signed by the Osaka Tigers in 1956, and he spent his first three seasons primarily in the NPB Farm Leagues, only having 22 appearances with the big club. He hit .239/.302/.250 in 82 games in 1959, but he then slumped to .132/.255/.242 in 1960. After hitting .109/.140/.164 in 61 games in 1961, the Tigers traded him to the Nishitetsu Lions for cash. Ito had a .238/.320/.300 batting line in 1962, then he batted .237/.286/.376 in 1963. He was 0-for-1 in 1963 Nippon Series Game 4, then he crushed a pinch-hit solo shot against Akira Takahashi in Game 7. The Lions were still beaten by the Yomiuri Giants.

The Shimane native recorded a .226/.290/.357 batting line in 1964, then he improved to .263/.359/.371 in 1965. His batting line was .230/.336/.366 in 1966, then he played a career-high 130 games with a .265/.365/.377 batting line in 1967. Ito was the only Japanese batter of the Lions to qualify for the batting title in 1967, and it wasn't until 2013 that another team had less then one Japanese batter to be qualified for it (the Yokohama BayStars didn't have anyone that year). He had his career year in 1968, hitting .272/.391/.413 with a career-high 9 homers. Ito also attended the 1968 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 0-for-2. However, when Masayoshi Higashida shined in 1969, Ito's spot was taken and he only had a .202/.358/.303 batting line. He was 9-for-54 in 1970, then he announced his retirement. He coached the Lions from 1971 to 1977, and he was the batting coach for the minor league team of the Lotte Orions in 1978.

Overall, Ito hit .239/.333/.350 with 587 hits and 48 homers in 14 seasons in the NPB.

Sources[edit]

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