Tadahiro Sakaemura

Tadahiro Sakaemura (栄村 忠広)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 154 lb.
• High School Kagoshima Jitsugyo High School

• Born September 10, 1961 in Makurazaki, Kagoshima Japan

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Biographical Information

Outfielder Tadahiro Sakaemura had a brief career in Nippon Pro Baseball and is more remembered for an outfield collision that derailed the career of budding star Sadaaki Yoshimura that for any positive contribution on the field.

He first came up with the Yomiuri Giants of the Central League in 1988, and played 67 games, mainly as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner, getting to bat only 42 times while hitting .238. All of his hits were singles, but he managed to draw 7 walks, and thanks to the pinch-running, scored 14 runs and stole 11 bases in 15 attempts. He led the team in stolen bases, and an incident on June 14, when he was hit in the head by a thrown ball while serving as a pinch-runner, led the Central League to mandate that baserunners wear helmets. He then only returned to the top level in 1991, with 7 games for the Orix Blue Wave, after joining that team as a free agent, where his usage was even more extreme: he had only one plate appearance (he struck out), but scored twice.

The incident for which he is famous occurred on July 6, 1988, in a game against the Chunichi Dragons. Yoshimura had hit career home run #100 at age 25 earlier in the game when in the 8th inning, he collided with Sakaemura in the outfield, severing three ligaments in his left leg. He escaped unhurt and was able to complete the game, while Yoshimura had to undergo multiple surgeries, and while he eventually returned to action, he was never the same player again. Because he was (unfairly) blamed for the collision, Tadahiro adopted a low profile after his playing career, staying away from the game and refusing to speak to the media for many years. When he finally opened up to talk about the famous incident, he explained that Yoshimura had tried to cheer him up, telling him he was not to blame for what happened. After that, he was able to return to baseball as a coach.

In high school, he was an infielder and took part in the 1978 and 1979 Summer Koshien. He was a originally a right-handed batter, but was converted first to switch-hitting and then to batting left-handed full-time in the Japanese minor leagues, in order to take advantage of his outstanding speed. He was also moved to the outfield, and in 1987 won a stolen base title in the Eastern League.