Minoru Kasai

Minoru Kasai (葛西 稔)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 178 lbs.

• School Hosei University
• High School Tohoku High School

• Born May 5, 1967 in Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Minoru Kasai pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 12 years.

Kasai was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in the first round of the 1989 NPB draft, but he only pitched 4 games with the big club in his rookie year. He joined the rotation in 1991, and he was 8-8 with a 3.77 ERA. Kasai then went 6-8 with a 3.83 ERA in 1992, and he was 2-3 with a 3.98 ERA in 1993. The Tigers turned him into a reliever in 1994, and he had a 3.63 ERA in 11 games. He then recorded a 4.78 ERA in 16 appearances in 1995. Kasai broke out in 1996, leading the Central League with 63 appearances while having a 3.31 ERA.

The Aomori native had a 1.51 ERA in 44 games in 1997, and he also collected 10 saves. Kasai ranked 6th in saves, between Sung-min Cho and Atsunori Ito. He then had a 3.81 ERA in 51 appearances in 1998, and he was 7th in games pitched (tied with Kazuhiro Sasaki). Kasai slumped to 6.20 ERA in 19 games in 1999, and he bounced back in 2000. He and southpaw Shoji Toyama were platoon partners. When meeting left-handed batters, Kasai would moved to first base and Toyama replaced him; when the next batter was right-handed, they would exchange spots. Kasai had a solid 2.45 ERA in 43 appearances in 2000, then his ERA was 3.86 in 32 appearances in 2001. He announced his retirement after the 2001 season, and he coached the Tigers from 2002 to 2008. He then became a scout of the Tigers.

Overall, Kasai was 36-40 with a 3.59 ERA, collected 29 saves in 331 appearances, struck out 352 and pitched 584 innings in 12 years in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio