Toyohiko Yoshida

Toyohiko Yoshida (吉田 豊彦)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 8", Weight 173 lbs.

• High School Kunisaki High School

• Born September 4, 1966 in Kunisaki, Oita, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Toyohiko Yoshida pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 20 years.

Yoshida was selected by the Nankai Hawks in the first round of the 1987 NPB draft, and he soon became an important part of their bullpen as a rookie. He recorded a 4.41 ERA in 43 games in 1988, and collected 3 saves. Yoshida joined the rotation in 1989, and he was 10-8 with a 5.32 ERA. He still struggled in 1990 as he was 5-10 with a 5.01 ERA, and he improved slightly in 1991 as he was 4-6 with a 4.17 ERA.

The Oita native broke out in 1992 and he was selected for the Pacific League team in the 1992 NPB All-Star Games. He replaced Hisanobu Watanabe in the 7th inning of Game 1, then struck out Kaoru Okazaki and Hiromoto Okubo in his shutout inning; Yasukatsu Shirai succeeded him. He then relieved Yasuyuki Kawamoto in Game 3 and pitched a shutout inning. Yoshida ended up 11-9 with a 3.64 ERA; he ranked 8th in wins (7 behind Hideo Nomo) and 5th in complete games (11, 6 behind Nomo). He couldn't repeat his success in 1993, and he only had a 4.62 ERA in 24 games with 7 wins.

Yoshida bounced back soon in 1994 and he was selected into the 1994 NPB All-Star Games. He replaced starter Hideki Irabu in the 4th inning of Game 1, and pitched 3 innings with 2 strikeouts. He gave up a double to Hitoshi Hatayama, then Shinichi Murata's single sent Hatayama home; Yoshida forced Yutaka Wada to ground into a double play to end the inning. he ended up 12-11 with a 3.78 ERA, started a league-leading 29 games, ranking 3rd in wins (3 behind Irabu), 8th in ERA (0.87 behind Hiroshi Shintani) and 5th in strikeouts (110 behind Irabu). He won the Most Valuable Battery Award with Koichiro Yoshinaga. He was still a solid starter in 1995, having a 8-8 record with a 4.15 ERA in 24 starts.

However, the 1995 season was the last productive one as a starter for Yoshida. His ERA was 5.01 in 18 games in 1996, and the Hawks removed him from the rotation. He still struggled in 1997 as his ERA was 6.14 in 27 relief outings, then the Hawks traded him to the Hanshin Tigers for cash. Yoshida still couldn't find back his command in 1998, and he recorded a 5.19 ERA in 44 appearances. He was turned into a starter again, but the attempt failed, and he only started 14 games with a 4.87 ERA in 1999. His ERA was 5.60 in 24 games in 2000, and the Tigers released him after the 2001 season; he only pitched 8 games that year.

The Kintetsu Buffaloes picked him up, and Yoshida miraculously became a solid reliever in 2001. He recorded a 2.10 ERA in 42 relief outings, and collected 2 wins. He attended the 2003 NPB All-Star Games, and succeeded Kazumi Saito with a 4-3 lead in the 9th inning in order to close Game 1. However, he gave up a game-tying solo shot to Yoshinobu Takahashi, and the game was tied. He ended up notching 8 saves with a 2.33 ERA in 60 appearances. He ranked 8th in saves (30 behind Kiyoshi Toyoda) and 3rd in appearances (5 behind Hideo Koike). Yoshida's ERA rose to 4.15 in 2004, but he still pitched 56 games, and ranked 6th in appearances (10 behind Yasuhiko Yabuta). After this season, he was assigned to the newly-founded Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Yoshida was still a reliable southpaw reliever in 2005, and he had a 3.40 ERA in 50 games. The veteran recorded a 3.19 ERA in 41 games in 2006, but his ERA rose to 9.90 in 2007, then he announced his retirement. On October 4, Yoshida struck out Toshiaki Imae with 3 pitches in his last game, and his 20-year professional career ended. He then coached the Golden Eagles from 2008 to 2011, and jumped to the Kochi Fighting Dogs of the Shikoku Island League Plus. He was their pitching coach from 2012 to 2019, and managed them from 2020 to 2023.

Overall, Yoshida was 81-102 with a 4.38 ERA, collected 17 saves and 23 holds, struck out 1,075 and pitched 1,596 innings in 20 years in NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio
• 2002 NPB All-Star Game