Tsutomu Sakai

Tsutomu Sakai (酒井 勉)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 171 lbs.

• School Tokai University
• High School Tokai University Urayasu High School

• Born June 27, 1963 in Funabashi, Chiba, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Tsutomu Sakai played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 5 years.

Sakai was drafted by the Orix Braves in the first round of the 1988 NPB draft, and he was soon productive as a rookie. He joined the rotation in the first half of the 1989 season, then was named as the closer after the All-Star Game. Sakai ended up 9-9 with 9 saves and a 3.61 ERA, and he won the PL Rookie of the Year Award. He also got two 3rd-place votes in PL MVP Voting, which ranked 10th (tied with Hiromitsu Kadota).

The Chiba native was a swingman in 1990, when he collected 6 wins and 5 saves with a 4.15 ERA. He turned into a full-time starter in 1991, and had a 5-8 record with a 4.15 ERA in 19 starts. Sakai improved and went 10-11 with a 3.29 ERA in 1992. He was 8th in the Pacific League in ERA, between Shigetoshi Hasegawa and Kimiyasu Kudoh. He also allowed 2 runs in 2 innings in 1992 NPB All-Star Game 2. However, his career suddenly ended due to a ossification of the yellow ligament. He only pitched 8 games in 1993, then announced his retirement after the 1996 season. Sakai was the ni-gun pitching coach for the Orix from 2001 to 2003 and from 2008 to 2010. He also coached their big league team in 2016, and served as scout for them from 2004 to 2008 and in 2011. Sakai was the pitching coach for the minor league team of the Rakuten Golden Eagles from 2012 to 2014 and managed them in 2015.

Overall, Sakai was 33-31, collected 14 saves with a 3.78 ERA, struck out 395 and pitched 556 2/3 innings in 5 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio