Seiji Sekiguchi

Seiji Sakaguchi (関口 清治)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 176 lb.

• High School Taipei Kogyo High School

• Born October 9, 1925 in Taipei Taiwan
• Died June 9, 2007

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Biographical Information

A five-time All-Star and two-time Best Nine player, left fielder Seiji Sekiguchi played and managed in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Sekiguchi debuted in 1948 and went 0 for 14 with 7 strikeouts and a walk. He injured his shoulder and was let go. After time with Hoshino-gumi in the industrial leagues, he was picked up by the Nishi-Nihon Pirates in 1950 and hit .254/.298/.419 with 18 HR. His 13 outfield errors that season are a Central League record.

Sekiguchi then moved to the Nishitetsu Lions after Nishi-Nihon collapsed, where he spent his best days. He produced at a .285/.340/.507 clip in 1951. In 1952, the 26-year-old batted .260/.306/.483 with 21 HR in 358 AB. A year later, Sekiguchi hit .276/.323/.442.

In 1954, Sekiguchi batted .276/.369/.507 with 27 home runs and 87 RBI, making his first Best Nine as well as his first Pacific League All-Star team. He stole a career-high 19, but was caught 12 times. He was just 3 for 18 with 3 walks in the 1954 Japan Series, which Nishitetsu dropped in seven games. In 1955, the flyhawk hit .298/.353/.478 to tie Kihachi Enomoto and Shoichi Busujima for 8th in the PL in average. His 95 strikeouts led the PL, though. He made his second All-Star team that year.

Sekiguchi produced at a .255/.293/.448 clip in 1956. He hit 13 triples to lead the Pacific League. In the 1956 Japan Series, he was on fire, hitting .381/.381/1.000 with four home runs. Yasumitsu Toyoda won the Series MVP award instead as Nishitetsu claimed its first title.

In 1957, the veteran outfielder put up a .300/.364/.488 batting line and made his third All-Star squad. He was 7th in the PL in average. In the 1957 Japan Series, Sekiguchi batted .333/.400/.500 as Nishitetsu again won it all.

Sekiguchi kept on hitting in 1958 with a .276/.326/.442 season. He made his 4th PL All-Star team and his second Best Nine. He only hit .174/.200/.174 in the 1958 Japan Series but the Lions still achieved the "three-peat."

In 1959, both Sekiguchi and the Lions were fading. Nishitetsu failed to win the PL pennant and the left fielder hit just .217/.256/.267 with two home runs in 318 AB. He made his final All-Star team in 1960 with a .262/.305/.398 season at the plate. In his last year with Nishitetsu, number 27 managed only a .200/.261/.281 batting line.

Sekiguchi then went to the Hankyu Braves, hitting .228/.281/.310 in 1962 and .158/.200/.237 in 38 games in 1963.

Overall, Sekiguchi had hit .264/.318/.433 with 166 HR in 1,532 games in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Sekiguchi then went into coaching. In 1982, he was hired as manager of the Kintetsu Buffaloes and piloted them to a 63-57-10, third-place finish. They fell to 52-65-13 and fourth in 1983 and he was fired.

Sekiguchi died in 2007, choking to death. His wife Chiaki survived him.

Source: Japan Baseball Daily by Gary Garland