Tatsuji Nishimura

Tatsuji Nishimura (西村 龍次)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 206 lb.

• High School Koryo High School, Samukawa High School

• Born July 18, 1968 in Kure, Hiroshima Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Tatsuji Nishimura pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Japanese national team.

Nishimura represented Japan in the 1987 Intercontinental Cup and 1989 Intercontinental Cup. The Yakult Swallows drafted him in the first round of the 1989 NPB draft. He joined the rotation as a rookie, and went 10-7 with a 4.06 ERA in his rookie year. Nishimura broke out and had a 15-8 record with a 2.80 ERA in 1991. He led the league in shutouts with 6, ranked third in wins (2 behind Shinji Sasaoka), 3rd in complete games (2 behind Masumi Kuwata), 4th in ERA (.36 behind Sasaoka) and 10th in strikeouts (96 behind Kazuhisa Kawaguchi). In 1991 NPB All-Star Game 1, he relieved Hiromi Makihara in the 4th inning and pitched 2 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts. He slumped a little in the next year, but still collected 14 wins with a 3.95 ERA. He was 6th in wins (3 behind Masaki Saito) and 3rd in innings pitched (16 2/3 behind Koji Nakada). The Hiroshima native was 11-6 with a 3.72 ERA in 1993. In the 1993 Nippon Series, he started in Game 2, pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowed 2 runs and got the win. His next appearance was Game 6; he started but allowed 4 runs in just 4 2/3 innings and got the loss. The Swallows beat the Seibu Lions in 7 games, and Nishimura won his first Nippon Series Title.

Nishimura was only 6-9 with a 3.40 ERA in 1994. On May 11, he plunked Shinichi Murata of the Yomiuri Giants on the head and Masao Kida soon deliberately threw at Nishimura's hip. The Giants' Dan Gladden then had a fight with Chikashi Nakanishi in the 7th inning. Gladden and Nishimura both received a 10-game penalty. The Swallows traded him to the Kintetsu Buffaloes for Masato Yoshii after the 1994 season. Nishimura slumped to 5-9 with a 4.67 ERA in 1995. He still struggled in 1996 as his ERA rose to 7.62, and he spent the whole 1997 season in the NPB Farm Leagues. The Buffaloes released him before the 1998 season.

The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks picked up Nishimura, and he miraculously came back in 1998. He was 10-10 with a 3.36 ERA, and ranked 6th in wins (3 behind Tomohiro Kuroki). He was selected into the 1998 NPB All-Star Game, and recorded a shutout inning in Game 2. He also won the NPB Comeback Player of the Year Award, became the first player in Daiei's history to win this award. Nishimura was named the opening day starter in 1999, but he only had a 4-3 record with a 4.34 ERA due to an elbow injury. He only pitched 3 more games in the next two seasons, and announced his retirement after the 2001 season.

Overall, Nishimura was 75-68 with a 3.76 ERA and pitched 1,234 innings in 11 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan