Takehiro Hashimoto

Takehiro Hashimoto (橋本 武広)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 6", Weight 162 lb.

• School Tokyo University of Agriculture
• High School Shichinohe High School

• Born September 18, 1964 in Kamikita-gun, Aomori Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Takehiro Hashimoto pitched over 500 games in Nippon Pro Baseball.

In high school, Hashimoto once pitched a 18-inning, 26-strikeout game. After college, he played for Prince Hotels in the industrial leagues. The Daiei Hawks took him in the third round of the 1989 NPB draft. He debuted with the big club in 1990, going 1-5 with a 5.57 ERA and 32 walks in 51 2/3 IP. He was 1-4 with a 5.48 ERA and .333 opponent average in 1991 and gave up 15 runs, 9 walks and 17 hits in 11 innings in 1992. He was showing some progress in 1993 (3.27 ERA, but .322 opponent average). Daiei then dealt him with Katsuyoshi Murata and Makoto Sasaki to the Seibu Lions for Koji Akiyama, Tomio Watanabe and Tomoyuki Uchiyama.

Hashimoto was turned into a LOOGY by Seibu. He saved one game and had a 2.86 ERA in 34 2/3 IP in 1994, whiffing 39. In the 1994 Japan Series, he allowed one run in 1 2/3 IP over three appearances as Seibu fell to the Yomiuri Giants. He pitched 58 games in 1995 but totaled just 41 2/3 innings. He had a 1.94 ERA, 3-1 record and a save. He pitched the most games of any NPB hurler that year. He worked even fewer innings per outing in 1996 with 35 2/3 IP and 55 games, allowing a 2.27 ERA and registering eight saves.

In 1997, Takehiro worked 68 games and 48 1/3 innings, going 2-1 with a save, 1.68 ERA and .205 opponent average. He again led NPB in games pitched. He won the Middle Reliever of the Year award. In the 1997 Japan Series, he gave up four hits but no runs in 1 2/3 IP; Seibu fell to the Yakult Swallows. The Aomori native pitched 43 1/3 innings in 66 games in 1998. He had a 1-4 record, five saves, a 3.53 ERA and .207 opponent average. He tied Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi for the Pacific League lead in appearances. In the 1998 Japan Series, the veteran pitched three games, with one inning pitched overall and no runs allowed. Seibu lost once more, this time to the Yokohama BayStars.

Hashimoto averaged barely batters faced per game in 1999 (122 BF, 55 G, 28 IP), going 1-2 with 3 saves and a 3.54 ERA. He went 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 65 games (42 innings) in 2000, trailing Soichi Fujita by five for the PL lead in games pitched. In 2001, he faced 125 batters in 60 games, going 0-2 with a .200 average and 3.06 ERA in 32 1/3 IP. He made his only All-Star team. He began 2002 with Seibu but was traded to the Hanshin Tigers in May. For the year, he was 1-0 in 19 games (8 1/3 IP) but gave up 22 hits for a .512 opponent average and he had a 14.44 ERA. He was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 23 games in 2003 to end his career.

Overall, Hashimoto was 12-22 with 20 saves and a 3.71 ERA in 560 career games (482 2/3 IP).

Source: Japanbaseballdaily