Takeshi Miyazaki

Note: This page discusses 1940s and 1950s NPB infielder Takeshi Miyazaki. For the 1980s Japanese national team infielder of the same name, click here.

Takeshi Miyazaki (宮崎 剛)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 6", Weight 140 lbs.

• High School Taipei Daiichi High School, Doshisha Shogyo High School

• Born December 17, 1918 in Nagano, Nagano Japan
• Died May 22, 2015 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Takeshi Miyazaki played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years.

Miyazaki was signed by the Hanshin Tigers in 1940, and he hit .204/.259/.235 in his rookie year. He struggled again in 1941 as his batting line was .192/.286/.230, then he was enlisted into the military and missed three seasons. Miyazaki returned to the league in 1946, and he hit .273/.294/.323 in 31 games. He jumped to the newly-founded National League in 1947, and he went to the Hankyu Braves after the league folded. Miyazaki had a .240/.289/.238 batting line with 29 steals in 1948, and he tied Kikuji Hirayama for 8th in steals in the JPBL.

The Nagano native collected 34 steals with a .258/.313/.338 batting line in 1949, and he was 2nd in steals (25 behind Chusuke Kizuka). He went to the Taiyo Whales when the JPBL split into two leagues in 1950, and he stole a career-high 61 bags with a .248/.309/.366 batting line. HeMiyazaki was 2nd in steals in the Central League, 13 behind Jiro Kanayama. He then hit .254/.317/.328 with 21 steals in 1951, and his batting line was .265/.302/.360 with 22 steals in 1952. Miyazaki slumped to .216/.254/.291 in 1953, and he tied Saburo Hirai and Shigeru Makino for 9th in steals. He struggled again in 1954 as his batting line was .183/.201/.232, and he announced his retirement in 1955.

Miyazaki became a coach after retiring, and he was a coach for the Whales in 1956. He managed their minor league team from 1957 to 1958, from 1963 to 1965, in 1967 and 1972. he was a coach for their big club from 1959 to 1962, and he became their bench coach in 1968. The Whales named Miyazaki their new manager in 1974, and he led them having a league-leading .265 team batting average. However, their pitchers were not good, and they were the only team whose team ERA was above 4.00. The Whales were 55-69 in that season, and Miyazaki was fired.

Overall, Miyazaki hit .234/.285/.307 with 949 hits, 221 steals and 28 homers in 11 years in NPB. As of 2023, he ranked 63th in steals in NPB history, between Yuji Kaneko and Tetsuharu Kawakami.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio