Tetsuya Yamamoto (01)

Tetsuya Yamamoto (山本 哲也)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 140 lb.

• High School Kumamoto Technical High School

• Born September 26, 1934 in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Japan
• Died October 13, 2019 in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Catcher Tetsuya Yamamoto was a 2-time All-Star in Nippon Pro Baseball. His brother was NPB outfielder Koshi Yamamoto.

Yamamoto was signed by the Osaka Tigers in 1953, and he spent his first three seasons primarily in the NPB Farm Leagues, only having 80 at-bats combined with the big club. He played 57 games as a backup behind Kazuo Ishigaki in 1956, and his batting line was .174/.184/.233. Yamamoto was named the starting catcher in 1957, and he hit .226/.256/.323 in 93 games. He was then selected into the 1958 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 0-for-2. Yamamoto ended up hitting .197/.235/.276 in 1958.

The Kumamoto native attended the All-Star Game in the next summer, and he was 1-for-2, with a single against Shoichi Ono. Yamamoto's batting line was .190/.212/.243 in 1959, then he hit .232/.280/.268 and .186/.211/.214 respectively in the next two seasons. He improved to .236/.281/.264 in 1962, and he helped the Tigers win the Central League pennant. Yamamoto was 1-for-9 in the 1962 Nippon Series, but the Tigers were beaten by the Toei Flyers in 7 games. He hit .190/.227/.305 in 77 games in 1963, then he lost his spot in 1964 as young catchers like Yoshinori Tsuji shined. Yamamoto only played 38 games in 1964, playing one game but not batting in the 1964 Japan Series as the Tigers fell to the Nankai Hawks. After the Series, he announced his retirement. He coached the Tigers from 1965 to 1967 and from 1975 to 1979, and he was a scout for them from 1968 to 1974.

Overall, Yamamoto hit .206/.239/.266 with 341 hits and 12 homers in 12 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1959 NPB All Star Game