Kunio Fukutomi

Kunio Fukutomi (福冨 邦夫)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 180 lb.

• School Kanagawa University
• High School Koryo High School

• Born April 23, 1943 in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kunio Fukutomi played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 16 years.

Fukutomi was signed by the Kokutetsu Swallows in 1965, and he hit .235/.288/.323 in his rookie year. His first NPB hit was off Tsuguo Hiraiwa and his first homer against Hidetoshi Ikeda. He slumped to .213/.276/.307 in 1966, and he only had 134 at-bats with a .216/.276/.328 batting line in 1967. Fukutomi broke out in 1968, hitting .292/.348/.449 with 22 doubles, 10 homers and 14 assists. He ranked 7th in batting in the Central League, between Shozo Doi and Takao Katsuragi. He then collected a league-leading 33 doubles with a .281/.333/.428 batting line in 1969. He was 10th in batting (between Akira Ejiri and Shinichi Eto), 7th in runs (65, between Doi and Yukinobu Kuroe) and 9th in hits (128, between Morimichi Takagi and Makoto Matsubara).

The Hiroshima native slumped to .239/.264/.348 in 1970, then he bounced back by hitting .244/.312/.367 with 20 doubles in 1971. He ranked 8th in doubles, between Kinji Shimatani and Shiro Takegami. Fukutomi was also selected into the 1971 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 0-for-4. He crushed a home run against Kazuya Wako in the opening day of the 1972 season, and he became the first pinch-hitter to hit a homer in opening game in NPB history. He ended up hitting .227/.300/.331 in 1972, then the Swallows traded him to the Taiheiyo Club Lions for cash. Fukutomi hit .273/.347/.436 in 1973, then he had a .260/.325/.351 batting line in 1974.

The Lions then traded him back to the Yakult Swallows for Shoji Yasuki, and he batted .290/.358/.447 in 1975. Fukutomi struggled in 1976 as his batting line was .183/.246/.275, then he hit .275/.356/.415 in 1977. The veteran's batting line was .232/.309/.364 in 1978, and he also appeared in the 1978 Nippon Series. As a pinch-hitter, Fukutomi was 0-for-3 with a walk, and the Swallows won their first Nippon Series title as they beat the Hankyu Braves in 7 games. Fukutomi recorded a .267/.339/.436 batting line in 1979, then he announced his retirement after he was 4-for-35 in 1980. He then coached the Swallows from 1981 to 1993. He was also the batting coach for the China Times Eagles of the CPBL in 1995 and for the Ssangbangwool Raiders of the KBO in 1996. He then coached the Kintetsu Buffaloes from 1997 to 2000. He was the coach of Shikoku Gakuin University from 2013 to 2015.

Overall, Fukutomi hit .255/.316/.383 with 1,076 hits and 89 homers in 16 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1971 NPB All Star Game