Takao Misono

Takao Misono (御園生 崇男)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 156 lb.
• School Kansai University
• High School Yamaguchi High School
• Born January 16, 1916 in Hofu, Yamaguchi Japan
• Died July 10, 1965 in Amagasaki, Hyogo Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Takao Misono pitched in Nippon Professional Baseball for 14 seasons.

Misono began his career with the Osaka Tigers in 1936 and remained with the club through 1939. He was 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in spring of the 1936 and went 6-1 with a 1.94 ERA in fall. Misono set an amazing record in fall of the 1937 seasons, having a 11-0 record with a 2.32 ERA. That was the NPB record for most wins without any loss for a pitcher who was qualified for winning a ERA title, and he held it until Mashiba Shigekuni broke it in 1981. He also broke the NPB record for a 18-games winning streak.

After leaving the mound due to military service in 1940, Misono came back and pitched 4 games for Hanshin (the Tigers changed their name in 1940). He was 13-16 with a 1.68 ERA in 1942, but he only pitched 9 games with a 1.68 ERA in 1943. Then the Nippon Professional Baseball League shut down due to the World War II in 1945.

The Yamaguchi native was 11-9 with a 2.83 ERA after the War in 1946, and he improved to 18-6 with a 2.63 ERA in 1947. He led the JPBL in winning percentage, and became the first player to led the league in winning percentage three times. Misono slumped to 11-9 with a 2.63 ERA in 1948, and he only pitched 11 games in 1949. His ERA rose to 5.71 in 1950, and Misono announced his retirement after the 1951 season. After retiring, he coached the Tigers from 1952 to 1958.

Overall, he was 127-70 with a 2.39 ERA in 285 games (196 starts) on the mound. He had 108 complete games and 17 shutouts.

He was also an effective batsman – when he was not on the mound, he was often in the outfield, on first base or coming off the bench to pinch hit (explaining his dearth of mound-time in the early 1940s and as his career wound down). He hit .245/.330/.303 with 506 hits in his career. In 1942, he stole 24 bases and in 1944, he swiped 18 bags. He also hit a career high .298 that year.