Tatsuhiro Yuminaga

Tatsuhiro Yuminaga (弓長 起浩)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 193 lbs.

• School Asia University
• High School Kunisaki High School

• Born July 5, 1967 in Kunisaki, Oita, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Tatsuhiro Yuminaga pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years.

Yuminaga was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in the third round of the 1991 NPB draft, and he joined their bullpen as a rookie. He had a solid 1.35 ERA in 51 appearances, and he ranked 5th in appearances in the Central League (between Hiroshi Ishige and Mitsuo Sumi. Yuminaga then recorded a 3.97 ERA in 54 games in 1993, and he was 4th in games pitched this time (between Shingo Takatsu and Kiyoshi Hashimoto). Yuminaga's ERA rose to 4.39 in 1994, but he still pitched 54 games and ranked 2nd in appearances (tied with future Major Leaguer Kazuhisa Ishii).

The Oita native had a 3.45 ERA in 33 relief outings in 1995, then his ERA was 2.28 in 23 games in 1996. Yuminaga had a career-high 59 appearances in 1997, but his ERA rose to 4.37. He tied Hiroaki Hirota for 6th in appearances. He then had his career year in 1998, leading the league with 57 appearances while having a 1.69 ERA. However, he pitched 11 games with a 9.82 ERA in 1999 due to injuries, and he only got 5 appearances in 2000. Yuminaga had a 4.26 ERA in 44 appearances in 2001, then he announced his retirement in 2002.

Overall, Yuminaga was 17-13 with a 3.28 ERA, struck out 273 and pitched 411 2/3 innings in 11 years in NPB. He never started any games in his 400 career appearances.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio