Toshimichi Kunieda

Toshimichi Kunieda (国枝 利通)

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

• School Meiji University
• High School Gifu Shogyo High School

• Born June 23, 1920 in Gifu, Gifu Japan
• Died March 8, 2011 in Gifu, Gifu Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Toshimichi Kunieda played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 7 years.

Kunieda was signed by the Chunichi Dragons in 1948, and he hit .233/.290/.295 with 36 steals in his rookie year. He was 3rd in steals in the JPBL, between Hiroyoshi Tsukamoto and Shosei Go. Kunieda then improved to .297/.361/.375 in 1949, and his batting line was .272/.348/.376 with 39 steals in 1950. He led the Central League with 16 caught stealing, and he was 3rd in steals (between Takeshi Miyazaki and Tsukamoto). Kunieda recorded a .286/.369/.360 batting line with 34 steals in 1951, and he ranked 4th in steals (between Michinori Tsubouchi and Saburo Hirai). He recorded a career-high .303 batting average in 1952, and he swiped 35 bags with a .303/.373/.353 batting line. He was 8th in batting (between Satoru Sugiyama and Tsuguo Goto) and 4th in steals (between Wally Yonamine and Shoji Arakawa). His batting line fell to .260/.319/.319 in 1953, and he announced his retirement after hitting .154/.267/.154 in 1954.

Overall, Kunieda hit .273/.342/.344 with 633 hits and 192 steals in 7 years in NPB. As of 2023, he was 87th in steals in NPB history, between Mitsuru Fujiwara and Shoichi Busujima.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio