Takashi Muto

Takashi Muto (武藤 孝司)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 165 lbs.

• School Soka University
• High School Yokohama Shogyo High School

• Born June 6, 1973 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Takashi Muto played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 6 years.

Muto was drafted by the Kintetsu Buffaloes in the third round of the 1995 NPB draft, but he spent most of his first seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues, and only played 14 games with the big club. Muto secured the starting shortstop spot in 1997, hitting .282/.325/.351 with 7 triples and 26 steals. He ranked 2nd in triples in the Pacific League (6 behind Kazuo Matsui) and 7th in steals (36 behind Matsui). He was selected into the 1998 NPB All-Star Game, but he was 0-for-3 with 2 strikeouts. Muto ended up hitting .250/.315/.316 with 16 steals in the 1998 season.

The Kawasaki native bounced back in 1999, hitting .280/.342/.333 with 7 steals. He had his career year in 2000, when he recorded a .311/.394/.407 batting line with 20 steals. He ranked 7th in batting (.075 behind Ichiro Suzuki) and 6th in swipes (13 behind Makoto Kosaka). He won 42 votes in the Best Nine voting, ranked 2nd behind Koichi Oshima. Muto suffered a right shoulder injury, so he was a designated hitter after August.

Unfortunately, that injury ruined the talented shortstop's career. Muto underwent right shoulder injury after the 2000 season, but he never recovered well. He only played 18 more games in 2002, then announced his retirement after the 2003 season. He then became a scout for the Buffaloes from 2004 to 2005, for the Rakuten Golden Eagles from 2006 to 2012 and for the San Diego Padres from 2015 to 2016

Overall, Muto had hit .278/.342/.349 with 408 hits and 2 homers in 6 seasons in NPB. His 706 consecutive at-bats without a double play record was the 6th longest in NPB history.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1998 NPB All Star Game