Takashi Kusaka

Takashi Kusaka (日下 隆)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 6", Weight 140 lb.

• School Hosei University
• High School Naruo High School

• Born June 19, 1929 in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Japan
• Died December 28, 2010

BR register page

Biographical Information

Takashi Kusaka played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 7 years. His brother was NPB outfielder Akira Kusaka.

Kusaka was signed by the Kintetsu Pearls in 1952, but he only played 21 games in his rookie year. He was named their starting right fielder in 1953, and he hit .285/.342/.357 in 111 games. He was 10th in batting (between Seizo Furukawa and Osamu Takechi) in the Pacific League. Kusaka then attended the 1954 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 0-for-1. He ended up hitting .296/.369/.353 with a league-leading 9 sacrifice flies, ranking 6th in batting (between Katsuki Tokura and Futoshi Nakanishi) and 6th in hits (142, tied with Nobushige Morishita). He set the NPB record for having 23 assists in a season as an outfielder, and he still held the record as of 2023.

Kusaka hit .293/.381/.350 in 1955, then he slumped to .258/.327/.307 in 1956. He struggled in 1957 as his batting line was .193/.261/.234, then he announced his retirement in 1958 after hitting .231/.313/.252 in 81 games. Kusaka set a NPB record as he didn't hit any home run in 2,088 consecutive at-bats, and he held it until Norihiro Akahoshi broke it in 2008. He later coached Naruo High School and Sanda Gakuen High School.

Overall, Kusaka hit .268/.341/.322 with 543 hits and 1 homers in 7 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1954 NPB All Star Game