Andy Miyamoto

Andrew Miyamoto
also known as Toshio Miyamoto

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 187 lb.
• High School Baldwin High School

• Born April 26, 1933 in Maui, HI USA

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Andy Miyamoto was a three-time All-Star in the Central League, a two-time RBI leader and one-time Japan Series MVP. He married the sister of teammate Hirofumi Naito and was perhaps second to Wally Yonamine in establishing a long, productive career by a Hawaiian in 1950s Japanese baseball.

Miyamoto debuted with the Yomiuri Giants in 1955, hitting .262/.320/.388. Andy played regularly in 1956 and batted .263/.324/.464 with 19 home runs and a Central League-leading 69 RBI. He was 8th in the CL in average and trailed home run leader Noboru Aota by six. He made his first All-Star team. The young outfielder hit only .190/.227/.190 in the 1956 Japan Series.

In 1957, Toshio hit .259/.334/.466 and again had the most RBI (78) in the league. He finished 9th in the league in average and his 21 homers were third in the loop, one behind co-leaders Aota and Takao Sato. His 109 strikeouts were the most in the Central as well. He did make his second All-Star team. He hit .353/.476/.765 in the 1957 Japan Series and was one of two players to blast two home runs that Series as the top hitter for the Giants. He won the Fighting Spirit Award as the MVP of the losing club.

In his last All-Star season, Andy batted just .219/.253/.305 in 1958. He only was 4 for 20 in the 1958 Japan Series. In 1959, Miyamoto produced at a .284/.335/.426 clip in a fine return to form. He was 1 for 4 in three games in the 1959 Japan Series. During the 1960 campaign, Andy was hit by 7 pitches, the most in the CL. He hit .228/.306/.362 that year.

At age 28, the Maui native batted .238/.311/.366 and he had his brightest moment in the 1961 Japan Series, hitting .409/.435/.591 with 7 RBI in six games to lead Yomiuri past the Nankai Hawks; he won MVP honors, becoming the first American to do so (Joe Stanka would follow three years later and no other American followed suit until Jim Lyttle in the 1980 Japan Series). Overall, he had batted .286 in his five trips to the Japan Series.

The 1962 season marked a weak 4-homer campaign for the former star slugger, as he hit only .237/.301/.323. He recovered a bit the next year after moving to the Kokutetsu Swallows, going deep 11 times and batting .252/.305/.387. In 1964, the veteran had a .268/.351/.320 batting line in his last year in Japan. Overall, he had produced at a .249/.312/.389 rate in Nippon Pro Baseball with 90 HR in 2,917 AB and 1,007 games.

Andy moved to the Hawaii Islanders in 1965 but hit just .161 with 2 HR and 6 RBI to finish his career.

After retiring, Miyamoto worked at the US Air Force's Hickam Field near Pearl Harbor.

Sources: Remembering Japanese Baseball by Rob Fitts, Japanbaseballdaily.com by Gary Garland