Kunji Yonesaki

Kunji Yonesaki (米崎 薫臣) also listed as Yonezaki

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 162 lb.

• High School Konohana Gakuin High School

• Born March 19, 1968 in Toyonaka, Osaka Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Kunji Yonesaki was an infielder in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Yonesaki helped the Japanese national team win a Bronze Medal at the 1987 Intercontinental Cup. He split shortstop with Kenjiro Nomura in the 1988 Baseball World Cup, going 2 for 12 with 8 walks, 3 runs and 4 steals in 4 tries while fielding .933 at SS. He did not play in the Bronze Medal game, which Japan lost to Taiwan. He tied 8 others for 5th in the Cup in steals, behind Tom Goodwin, Julio Medina, Kenji Tomashino and Chan-yup Rok. He also played for Japan in the 1988 Olympics, when they finished second in the demonstration event.

The Kintetsu Buffaloes took him in the first round of the 1988 NPB draft. His first hit in NPB was a solo homer off Hirohisa Matsunuma. He hit .203/.267/.348 in 79 plate appearances over 32 games in 1989, backing up Yasunaga Makishi at SS. He was 0 for 1 in the 1989 Japan Series, which Kintetsu dropped to the Yomiuri Giants. He saw his most playing time in 1990, batting .243/.293/.325 in 185 plate appearances (70 games), starting at short ahead of Toshiya Adachi. He was 0 for 2 in 1991, 2 for 9 in 1992 and 1 for 6 in 1993. Traded to the Hanshin Tigers for Akihiro Shimada, he hit .273/.373/.341 in 53 games in 1994, backing up Teruyoshi Kuji at SS and serving as the third-string third baseman. He was 3 for 10 wit ha double in 1995 and 2 for 12 with a double in 1996 to end his NPB career.

Overall, Yonesaki had hit .234/.291/.327 in 357 plate appearances over 196 games in NPB, with 41 runs, 36 RBI and 4 steals in 4 tries. He battled a hand injury during his career. After baseball, he ran a restaurant.

Sources

• Old IBAF site
• Japan Baseball Daily by Gary Garland
• Japanese Wikipedia