Takashi Osanai

Takashi Osanai (長内 孝)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 195 lbs.

• High School Toin Gakuen High School

• Born August 30, 1957 in Aomori, Aomori Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Takashi Osanai played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 14 years.

Osanai was drafted by the Hiroshima Carp in the third round of the 1975 NPB draft, but spent his first six seasons primarily in the NPB Farm Leagues, only playing 14 games combined with the big club. Osanai hit .207/.242/.299 in 1982, then he improved to .265/.324/.471 with 18 homers in 1983. He played 117 games in this season because the Carp used him to fill the hole of 1B Hideji Kato, who left the team due to hepatitis. When Takehiko Kobayakawa joined the team in 1984, Osanai played as his back-up in the next two seasons, and he hit .240/.310/.417 then .254/.351/.488. In the 1984 Nippon Series, Osanai was 4-for-15 with a RBI to help the Carp beat the Hankyu Braves in 7 games.

The Carp named Osanai their new starting first baseman in 1986, and he hit .254/.344/.463 with a career-high 19 homers and a Central League-leading 105 strikeouts. He was selected into the 1986 NPB All-Star Games, and he was 3-for-8, with a double against Yoshiaki Ishimoto in Game 1. In the 1986 Nippon Series, Osanai was 2-for-2 with a clutch 2-run single against Hisanobu Watanabe, but the Seibu Lions still beat the Carp. He slumped to .229/.289/.295 in 1987 so he lost his spot, then he hit .258/.326/.383 in 1988. He was their 4th outfielder that year, backing up Ryuzo Yamasaki, Kiyoyuki Nagashima and Rick Lancellotti.

Osanai improved to .273/.325/.462 with 11 homers in 1989 while splitting time between first base and the outfield, and he was also selected into the 1989 NPB All-Star Games; he was 0-for-2. Osanai hit .268/.359/.444 with 11 homers in 1990, then his batting line fell to .233/.323/.377 in 1991. He crushed a pinch-hit solo shot off Tetsu Suzuki of the Seibu Lions in 1991 Nippon Series Game 4, but he was 0-for-4 in the rest of the Series then the Carp traded him to the Yokohama Taiyo Whales for Toshio Choshi. Osanai hit .223/.290/.361 for the Whales in 1992, but he only played 10 games for them in 1993 and he announced his retirement. He coached the Carp from 1994 to 2005, and he was the batting coach for the Orix Buffaloes in 2017.

Overall, Osanai hit .250/.324/.422 with 632 hits and 104 homers in 14 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1986 NPB All Star Game