Tetsuji Yamaguchi

Tetsuji Yamaguchi (山口 哲治)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 187 lbs.

• High School Chiben Gakuen High School

• Born April 17, 1959 in Gojo, Nara, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Tetsuji Yamaguchi pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 9 years and won a ERA title.

Yamaguchi was drafted by the Kintetsu Buffaloes in the second round of the 1977 NPB draft, and soon became an important part of their bullpen. He went 7-7 with 4 saves with a 2.49 ERA in 1979, and won the Pacific League ERA title. In the Climax Series, he collected a save in both Game 1 and Game 2, then got the win against the Hankyu Braves to help the Buffaloes advance to the 1979 Nippon Series; he won the series MVP. In the Nippon Series, he collected 1 1/3 shutout innings in Game 3, then allowed a run in 1/3 inning in Game 4. He then pitched 2 shutout innings in Game 7, but couldn't stop the Hiroshima Toyo Carp from beating the Buffaloes to win the Nippon Series title.

The Nara native slumped to 2-1 with a 6.39 ERA due to a injury the next season. He bounced back soon, went 4-2 with 3 saves with a 3.43 ERA in 1981. However, he struggled and had a 4.61 ERA in 27 appearances in 1982, and never had another productive season. He only pitched 15 games combined over the next three seasons, and the Buffaloes traded him to the Nankai Hawks for Hiromasa Arai after the 1985 season. Yamaguchi still only pitched 12 games combined with the big club for the Hawks, then announced his retirement after the 1988 season. He was a coach for the minor league team for the Buffaloes from 1997 to 1998 and in 2004. He also worked for the Rakuten Golden Eagles as pitching coordinator in 2017, and scouted for them from 2013 to 2016 and from 2018 to 2020.

Overall, Yamaguchi was 12-13 with a 3.76 ERA and 16 saves, struck out 148 and pitched 379 2/3 innings in 9 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio