Toshihiko Sei

Toshihiko Sei (清 俊彦)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 176 lbs.

• High School Takanabe High School

• Born September 3, 1945 in Koyu-gun, Miyazaki, Japan
• Died December 15, 2017 in Sayama, Saitama, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Toshihiko Sei pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 13 years and won a ERA title.

Sei was signed by the Nishitetsu Lions in 1964, and he soon joined the rotation. He went 4-11 with a 3.63 ERA in 35 appearances. He suffered from hepatitis in 1965, and the Lions moved him to the bullpen in this season. The talented righty came back the next season and completed a no-hitter against the Kintetsu Buffaloes. He ended up 5-6 with a 2.04 ERA in 14 starts in 1966. Sei returned to the bullpen in 1967, and went 4-5 with a 2.83 ERA in 51 appearances. The Lions then traded him to the Kintetsu Buffaloes for Shojiro Kikukawa and Takashi Takagi.

The Miyazaki native joined the Buffaloes' rotation in 1968, and had a 6-8 with a 3.70 record. He improved to 18-7 with a 2.23 ERA in 1969, leading the Pacific League in winning percentage, while he ranked 3rd in wins (6 behind Keishi Suzuki), 5th in strikeouts (135 behind Suzuki) and 2nd in ERA (.51 behind Masaaki Kitaru). Sei was also selected into the All-Star Game for the first time in his career. He pitched 2 1/3 innings with only one run allowed to get the win over Minoru Murayama and the Central League in Game 1, then collected 2 shutout innings in Game 3. Sei was still productive in 1970, and he pitched in 1970 NPB All-Star Game 3; Goro Toi blasted a 3-run homer off him. He ended up 14-16 with a 3.29 ERA, and ranked 8th in strikeouts (109 behind Suzuki) and 10th in wins (11 behind Fumio Narita). He was 15-14 with a 2.97 ERA in 1971, ranking 7th in wins (9 behind Kitaru), 3rd in ERA (.60 behind Hisashi Yamada) and 5th in Ks (121 behind Suzuki).

The ace of Kintetsu had a career year in 1972. He set the Pacific League record when he pitched 3 consecutive shutouts, the last on August 27, and ended up 19-14 with a 2.36 ERA. Sei won the PL ERA title, ranked 3rd in wins (1 behind Tomehiro Kaneda and Yamada), 4th in Ks (22 behind Suzuki) and 8th in complete games (8 behind Kaneda). However, that was his last productive year. Sei slumped to 5-17 with a 4.71 ERA and led the league in losses in 1973, and he only had a 5-6 record with a 3.73 ERA in 1974. He only pitched 7 more games with the big club in 1975, then the Buffaloes traded him to the Hanshin Tigers for cash after that season. Sei only had 5 appearances with the Tigers, and announced his retirement after the 1976 season.

Overall, Sei was 100-106 with a 3.14 ERA, struck out 1,064 and pitched 1,776 2/3 innings in 13 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio