Osamu Inoue

Osamu Inoue (井上 修)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 176 lbs.

• High School Fukuoka Denpa High School

• Born July 20, 1946 in Kasuya-gun, Fukuoka Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Utility man Osamu Inoue played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 16 years.

Inoue was signed by the Hiroshima Carp in 1965, but he only got 7 at-bats in his first two seasons. He played 75 games with a .160/.229/.174 batting line in 1967, and he was demoted again so he played 24 games combined in the next two seasons. The Carp traded him to the Hankyu Braves before the 1970 season, but he still didn't have many chances as he got 45 at-bats combined from 1970-1971. Inoue improved in 1972, hitting .285/.351/.409 in 186 at-bats and 105 games. He was 0-for-5 in the 1972 Nippon Series, and the Braves lost to the Yomiuri Giants in 5 games.

The Fukuoka native then hit .205/.311/.308 in 1973, so he was mainly used as a pinch-runner or defense replacement in the next three seasons. He hit .184/.281/.327 in 49 at-bats in 1974, and he tied Toru Ogawa and Michiyo Arito for 9th in steals in the Pacific League with 20. Inoue stole a career-high 23 bags in 1975, and he ranked 7th in steals (between Yoshihiro Iizuka and Arito). On the other hand, he only had 54 at-bats and his batting line was terrible .167/.262/.204. He then hit .236/.311/.327 in 1976, and his batting line was .264/.336/.406 in 106 at-bats in 1977.

Inoue hit .287/.363/.515 in 1978 and he crushed a career-high 9 homers, but his batting line then fell to .213/.283/.376 in 1979. He only played 32 games in 1980, then he announced his retirement. Inoue later coached the Braves from 1981 to 1992, and he joined the Uni-President Lions of the CPBL in 1993. He was their batting coach from 1993 to 1998, and he also managed them for 7 games after Chia-Hsiang Lin resigned; they were 4-3. He then became the bench coach of the Chinatrust Whales from 2001 to 2006, and he was the bench coach for the Lions in 2007.

Overall, Inoue hit .223/.304/.336 with 245 hits and 22 homers in 16 years in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio