Tetsuo Nishii

Tetsuo Nishii (西井 哲夫)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 158 lbs.

• High School Miyazaki Commercial High School

• Born July 7, 1951 in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Tetsuo Nishii pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 18 years.

Nishii was drafted by the Yakult Swallows in the 2nd round of the 1969 NPB draft, and he had a 2.77 ERA in 20 games in his rookie year. He was 5-7 with a 2.61 ERA in 1971, then he went 9-5 with a 3.64 ERA in 1972. Nishii was 2-3 with a 3.16 ERA in 1973, and he joined the rotation in 1974. He had a 11-6 record with a 3.18 ERA in 1974, then he went 9-15 with a 3.39 ERA in 1975. Nishii tied Yukitsura Matsumoto for 2nd in losses in the Central League, 3 behind Tsuneo Horiuchi. The 1976 season was his last season as a starter, and he went 0-7 with a 4.84 ERA.

The Swallows then turned him into a full-time reliever in 1977, and his ERA was 3.72 in 30 games. He recorded a 6.14 ERA in 30 appearances in 1978, and he relieved Yasujiro Suzuki in the 6th inning of the 1978 Nippon Series Game 3; he allowed 2 runs in 2 innings. Nishii then pitched 2 shutout innings in Game 4, and he got the win over Yutaro Imai thanks to Dave Hilton's clutch 2-run shot. Nishii succeeded Kunio Kobayashi in the 5th inning of Game 6, but he allowed 5 runs, which included 3 homers in 5 innings. The Swallows beat the Hankyu Braves in 7 games, and Nishii got his only Nippon Series title.

Nishii then came back in 1979 as his ERA was 3.60 in 43 games, and he improved to a 2.73 ERA in 29 games in 1980. He was 5-5 with a 3.93 ERA in 47 relief outings in 1981, and he tied Akio Saito, Hiroaki Takeuchi and Hiroaki Mizutani for 7th in appearances. However, Nishii's ERA rose to 5.67 in 22 games in 1982, then he was traded to the Lotte Orions for Akira Kuramochi. Nishii struggled again in 1983, and his ERA was 6.08 in 34 games. He bounced back soon in 1984, and he notched 8 saves with a 3.90 ERA in 37 games. He was 5th in saves in the Pacific League, tying Yutaka Enatsu and Motoyasu Kaneshiro. However, Nishii's ERA rose to 5.90 in 25 games in 1985, then the Orions released him in 1986 after having a 2.66 ERA in 16 games. He signed with the Chunichi Dragons, and he recorded a 3.29 ERA in 11 games in 1987. Nishii announced his retirement after the 1987 season.

Overall, Nishii was 63-66 with a 3.73 ERA, notched 20 saves in 542 games, struck out 744 and pitched 1,370 innings in 18 years in NPB. As of 2023, he was 70th in appearances, tied with Keishi Asano.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio