Toshitake Nakayama

Toshitake Nakayama (中山 俊丈) known as Yoshiro Nakayama from 1962 to 1968

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 145 lbs.

• High School Chukyo Shogyo High School

• Born December 14, 1935 in Nagoya, Aichi Japan
• Died October 1, 2016 in Kasugai, Aichi Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Toshitake Nakayama was a two-time All-Star in Nippon Pro Baseball and managed in the CPBL.

Nakayama was signed by the Chunichi Dragons in 1955, and he had a 2.41 ERA in 33 games in his rookie year. Nakayama then broke out in 1956, and he was 20-11 with a 1.62 ERA while leading the Central League with 9 shutouts. He was 7th in wins (tied with Hiroomi Oyane), 4th in ERA (between Oyane and Mitsuo Osaki), 8th in complete games (13, between Masahiko Oishi and Osaki) and 3rd in strikeouts (222, between Noboru Akiyama and Masaaki Koyama). Nakayama was also selected into the 1956 NPB All-Star Games, and he relieved Shigeru Sugishita in the 4th inning of Game 2. He pitched 3 shutout innings, only surrendering a single to Yasumitsu Toyoda, and got the win.

The Nagoya native extended his solid pitching in 1957, having a 20-15 record with a 1.82 ERA and led the league in shutouts again. He ranked 5th in wins (between Yoshio Bizen and Ozaki), 3rd in ERA (between Sho Horiuchi and Shozo Watanabe), 4th in complete games (20, between Ryohei Hasegawa and Zenjiro Tadokoro) and 3rd in strikeouts (between Masaichi Kaneda and Koyama). He relieved Koyama in 1957 NPB All-Star Game 2, but he walked Toyoda then gave up a double to Futoshi Nakanishi. After Kazuhiro Yamauchi singled to help Nakanishi score, Nakayama was replaced by Hasegawa; he didn't retire any batters in this event. He then slumped to 11-19 with a 3.02 ERA in 1958, ranking 7th in strikeouts (between Takashi Suzuki and Genichi Murata) and 3rd in losses (between Suzuki and Murata).

Nakayama was 9-20 with a 2.72 ERA in 1959, and he tied Yoshio Kitagawa and Bizen for 2nd in losses. The Dragons then moved him to the bullpen in 1960, and he had a 3.82 ERA in 39 appearances. Nakayama suffered from a left elbow injury in 1961, so he only pitched 16 games with a 3.13 ERA. He then had a 2.89 ERA in 28 games in 1962, and he was 9-5 with a 2.48 ERA in 1963. He completed a no-hitter on August 18 against Yomiuri Giants in the next season, and he had a 7-9 record with a 4.04 ERA in 1964. He only pitched 11 games with a 4.41 ERA in 1965, then he announced his retirement. Nakayama then became a coach for the Dragons from 1966 to 1968, from 1971 to 1978 and from 1984 to 1989. He also managed the Brother Elephants of the CPBL in 1999,and he led them to a 37-53 record. He later coached Chukyo University.

Overall, Nakayama was 83-90 with a 2.55 ERA, struck out 1,144 and pitched 1,605 innings in 11 years in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio
• 1957 NPB All-Star Game