Tsutomu Kameyama

Tsutomu Kameyama (亀山 努)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 162 lb.

• High School Kanoya Chuo High School

• Born July 2, 1969 in Osaka, Osaka Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Tsutomu Kameyama was an outfielder with the Hanshin Tigers for eight years. He wore number 00.

Kameyama was undrafted out of high school. He went 5 for 36 with two doubles and a steal in 1989 as a rookie. In 28 games for Hanshin in 1990, he hit .227/.382/.341 and led the minor Western League in both batting average and steals. He won the batting title again in 1991 but was only 2 for 21 with 7 strikeouts with the Tigers.

Kameyama became a starter for Hanshin in 1992 and batted .287/.343/.369 with 15 steals in 28 tries and 7 triples. He won a Gold Glove for his fine fielding, joining Tetsuya Iida and Tomonori Maeda as flyhawks so honored by the Central League that year.

On June 11, 1993, Kameyama dislocated his shoulder making a diving grab. He only played 44 games that year, hitting .246/.321/.341. He was back as a starter in 1994 and batted .284/.372/.425 for the best OPS of any Hanshin outfielder with 150+ AB, outperforming future major leaguer Tsuyoshi Shinjo and ex-major leaguer Rob Deer.

Injuries afield thwarted another season in 1995 when he hurt his back colliding with Glenn Davis; for the year, Kameyama was just 10 for 54 with 5 walks, a double and a triple. He did not play in '96 and went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in 1997.

In 377 games for Hanshin, Kameyama had batted .265/.336/.363 with 27 steals in 49 tries, 14 triples and 142 runs.

Kameyama coached the Japanese entry that won the 1999 Little League World Series, the first Japanese team to accomplish a title in 23 years.

Source: Japanbaseballdaily.com