Tsutomu Kuroda

Tsutomu Kuroda (黒田 勉)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 154 lbs.

• High School Tsurumi Kogyo High School, Shounan High School

• Born August 28, 1936 in Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
• Died October 15, 2017

BR register page

Biographical Information

Tsutomu Kuroda pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 10 years.

Kuroda was signed by the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 1956, and he was 6-4 with a 2.71 ERA in his rookie year. He went 9-20 with a 2.50 ERA in 1957, ranking 9th in the Pacific League in ERA (between Tamotsu Kimura and Yoshimi Ebara), 10th in strikeouts (between Kimura and Takumi Nomo), 2nd in losses (tied with Masao Ota) and 9th in appearances (tied with Tetsuya Yoneda). Kuroda then went 4-12 with a 4.72 ERA in 1958, and he slumped to 0-5 with a 5.38 ERA in 1959.

The Fujisawa native bounced back in 1960, and he had a 7-12 record with a 3.67 ERA. He was 4-13 with a 3.21 ERA in 1961, then he went 8-23 with a 3.56 ERA in 1962. Kuroda led the league in losses in 1962, 2 ahead of Yukihiro Kubo. His ERA rose to 5.33 in 23 games in 1963, then he pitched 15 games with a 3.09 ERA in 1964. Kuroda only had 2 appearances in 1965, and he announced his retirement after this season.

Overall, Kuroda was 38-93 with a 3.70 ERA, struck out 730 and pitched 1,156 2/3 innings in 10 years in NPB. He had 55 more losses than wins, and that was the second most in NPB history (9 behind Tsuneo Kobayashi).

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio