Toyozo Minamimure

Toyozo Minamimure (南牟礼 豊蔵)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 162 lb.

• High School Miyakonojo Kogyo High School

• Born December 9, 1960 in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Toyozo Minamimure was an outfielder in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Minamimure played in the industrial leagues after high school. He was a third-round draft pick of the Hankyu Braves in the 1981 NPB draft. He was 2 for 6 as a rookie in 1982, making his debut as a defensive sub for Bobby Marcano and getting his first hit off Shigekuni Mashiba. He hit .224/.272/.320 in 137 plate appearances and 84 games in 1983, getting his first homer off Seiji Kobayashi. He saw limited action (4 for 16, 2B, 3 BB in 30 G) in 1984, hurt his knee and spent all of 1985 in the minors while rehabbing. He would battle knee problems for the rest of his career.

In 71 games and 128 plate appearances in 1986, he produced at a .215/.252/.240 clip. He was 0 for 3 in 1987. He hit .243/.296/.324 in 86 plate appearances in 1988. He had his busiest season in 1989, hitting .282/.365/.372 in 192 plate appearances and 106 games and stealing 9 bases in 12 tries for the team (now renamed the Orix Braves). He was Orix's third-most-used outfielder in terms of games, following Yasuo Fujii and Atsuhiro Motonishi. He was 2 for 7 with a double and two steals in 1990.

The Miyazaki native was 0 for 4 with two walks and four runs to open 1991 with Orix then was traded to the Chunichi Dragons for Yasuhiro Kawabata. He hit .297/.331/.492 with 6 homers in 129 plate appearances for the Dragons the remainder of the year as a backup to Mark Ryal, Yasuaki Taiho and Koji Yamaguchi. He was 4 for 22 with a homer in 1992 and 1 for 6 in 1993. He moved to the Hanshin Tigers as a free agent and hit .247/.302/.371 in 96 plate appearances and 96 games in 1994. He retired at the end of the next season after having not played for the Tigers, then worked as a commentator for Kansai Radio.

Minamimure had hit .249/.302/.348 in 837 plate appearances over 546 games in NPB, with 13 homers, 106 runs and 78 RBI. He stole 32 bases in 47 tries.