Tsuyoshi Kikuchihara

Tsuyoshi Kikuchihara (菊地原 毅)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 198 lbs.

• High School Sobudai High School

• Born March 7, 1975 in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Tsuyoshi Kikuchihara played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 17 years.

Kikuchihara was drafted by the Hiroshima Carp in the second round of the 1992 NPB draft, but he spent the first six years of his career in the NPB Farm Leagues, and only pitched 13 games combined with the big club. The Carp sent him to the China Times Eagles of the CPBL in 1995, but he struggled there and had a 5.46 ERA in 5 starts. He pitched 21 games as a reliever back in Japan in 1999, but his ERA was 7.75. He still struggled in 2000 as he had a 10.80 ERA in 9 games.

The Sagamihara native broke out in 2001. He tied the NPB record held by Kazuhisa Inao for having 78 appearances (breaking Osamu Fukuma's Central League record of 77 that had stood since 1984), and recorded a 4.91 ERA. Kyuji Fujikawa would break his record four years later. However, he injured his shoulder due to the overuse, and he only pitched one inning in 2002. Kikuchihara recovered and recorded a 3.44 ERA in 30 appearances in 2003, then had a 4.62 ERA in 29 games in 2004. The Carp then traded him to the Orix Buffaloes for Kazuhiro Uemura and Koji Yamasaki.

Kikuchihara had a career year in 2005. He notched a league-leading 33 holds with a 1.38 ERA, and won the PL Most Valuable Setup Pitcher Award. He also had a 3rd-place vote in PL MVP Voting. Kikuchihara pitched a shutout inning in the 2006 NPB All-Star Game, and he ended up collecting 22 holds with a 3.44 ERA in 2006. He injured his left shoulder in 2007, so he only pitched 28 games with a 2.86 ERA. He bounced back soon and notched 19 holds with a 2.98 ERA in 2008. However, Kikuchihara struggled in 2009 as his ERA was 5.21 ERA in 45 games, and he even allowed 24 runs in 38 innings in 2010.

The Orix traded him back to the Carp for Shinjiro Kojima after the 2010 season, and Kikuchihara tore his Achilles tendon in the middle of the 2011 season and his season ended. He came back and had a 4.70 ERA in 14 games in 2012, then announced his retirement after the 2013 season. he was the minor league pitching coach for the Carp from 2013 to 2022, then coached their big club since 2023.

Overall, Kikuchihara was 15-26, collected 107 holds with a 4.51 ERA, struck out 327 and pitched 393 innings in 17 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• NPB.com Bio