Mitsuru Fujiwara

Mitsuru Fujiwara (藤原 満)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.

• School Kinki University
• High School Matsuyama Commercial High School

• Born September 18, 1946 in Matsuyama, Ehime Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Mitsuru Fujiwara has played in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Fujiwara was drafted by the Nankai Hawks in the 4th round of the 1968 NPB draft. He debuted on April 13, 1969, and collected his first hit with the big club from Masaaki Kitaru on June 21. Fujiwara spent the first two years of his career in the NPB Farm Leagues, only playing 84 games combined with the top team. He batted .267/.318/.477 in 1971, but the Hawks then demoted him to the ni-gun again in 1972. Since Masaru Tomita transferred to the Yomiuri Giants, Fujiwara gained a chance to start as the third baseman, and he hit .263/.322/.393 with 10 homers in that year. In the1973 Nippon Series, Fujiwara hit a clutch 2-run single in Game 1, but then couldn't get any hits in the remain games of this series. He shared the third base spot with Junichi Kashiwabara, which limited him into 234 at-bats in that year.

Fujiwara took the everyday third baseman spot in the 1975 season, and played all 130 games with a .281/.324/.348 batting line. In 1985 NPB All-Star Game, he was 0-for-3 in Game 1, but collected a 2-run double from Takamasa Suzuki in the 7th inning. He had a career year in 1976, when he batted .302/.339/.403 with 50 steals and 159 hits. He led the league in hits, ranked 2nd in steals (12 behind Yutaka Fukumoto), and 2nd in batting average(.007 behind Satoru Yoshioka). He won both the Best Nine and NPB Gold Glove awards as a third baseman. In 1976 NPB All-Star Game 1, Fujiwara hit a 2-run single off Kazuyuki Yamamoto in the 4th inning, then shined in Game 2. He collected three doubles - from Shigeru Kobayashi in the 2nd, Hiromu Matsuoka in the 6th and Masaji Hiramatsu in the 7th inning, and also drove in 3 runs.

Fujiwara extended his elite performance in the 1977 season with a .300/.347/.369 batting line. In the 1978 NPB All-Star Games, he hit a single off Hisao Niura in the 7th inning of Game 1, but retired by Niura in the 9th inning and ended the game. Fujiwara blasted a 2-run homer off Shigeru Kobayashi in the 2nd, hit a RBI single off Osamu Nomura in the 4th, and collected a infield single from Yutaka Enatsu in the 9th inning in Game 3. He ended up batting .253/.282/.288 in this year.

In 1979 NPB All-Star Game 1, Fujiwara had a single from Takenori Emoto in the 1st, a double from Hajime Kato in the 6th and a RBI double from Enatsu in the 9th inning. He also collected a double from Senichi Hoshino in the 1st inning of Game 2 and a double from Kazuhiko Endo in the 6th inning of Game 3. He recorded a .295/.337/.395 batting line with 7 homers in this year. The Ehime native batted .300/.351/.408 in the 1980 season. Fujiwara hit a clutch RBI single off Akio Saito in the Game 1 of the 1981 NPB All-Star Games, and won the MVP of that game. He ended up hitting .300/.351/.376, and won the NPB Gold Glove again in that season. He led the league in hits again with 154. He hit .262/.316/.324 in 1982, then announced his retirement after the season. He then became the defense coach for the Hawks in the 1983 season, from the 1987 season to the 1988 season and from the 1993 season to 1994 season. He also worked as bench coach from the 1984 season to the 1985 season and hitting coach in the 1986 season. He then became a broadcaster.

Overall, Fujiwara had hit .278/.324/.368 in 14 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1981 NPB All-Star Game