Yoshimasa Takahashi

Yoshimasa Takahashi (高橋 善正)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 165 lbs.

• School Chuo University
• High School Kochi Shogyo High School

• Born May 5, 1944 in Takaoka-gun, Kochi, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yoshimasa Takahashi played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years and completed a perfect game.

Takahashi was drafted by the Toei Flyers in the first round of the 1966 NPB draft, and he soon joined their rotation. He was 15-11 with a 2.46 ERA, ranking 6th in the Pacific League in wins (8 behind Masaaki Ikenaga) and 9th in ERA (.71 behind Mitsuhiro Adachi). He won the PL Rookie of the Year Award. He pitched 2 innings in 1968 NPB All-Star Game 2, and ended up 13-14 with a 3.40 ERA in that season.

The Kochi native fell into a drain when he was jogging before the 1969 season and injured his waist, so he only went 3-11 with a 3.09 ERA. He slumped to 2-9 with a 4.50 ERA in 1970 due to the same injury, and he even considered retiring. Fortunately, Takahashi recovered well in 1971 as he went 7-11 with a 3.27 ERA, and ranked 9th in ERA (.90 behind Hisashi Yamada). He completed the 12th perfect game in NPB history, against the Nishitetsu Lions on August 21. The veteran improved to 10-13 with a 3.79 ERA in 1972, and also attended the 1972 NPB All-Star Game; he pitched 2 shutout innings in Game 3. The Flyers then traded him to the Yomiuri Giants for Toshihiko Kosaka and Hidetake Watanabe.

Takahashi was turned into a reliever by the Giants, and he remained solid as his ERA was 3.45 in 25 games in 1973 and 2.29 in 24 games in 1974. He pitched a career-high 53 games with a 2.54 ERA in 1975, then had a 3.45 ERA in 25 games in 1976. In his last season, Takahashi finally debuted in the Nippon Series, and he pitched 2 1/3 innings with 3 strikeouts and an earned run in his only appearance, in Game 1. The Hankyu Braves beat the Giants in 5 games, and Takahashi was unable to gain a Nippon Series title in his career. Although he still recorded a 4.37 ERA in 45 games, he decided to retire after the 1977 season. Takahashi was the pitching coach for the minor league team of the Giants from 1978 to 1979 and from 1981 to 1983, for their big club in 1980, for the Chunichi Dragons in 1986, for the Nippon Ham Fighters from 1988 to 1989 and for the Taiyo Whales from 1990 to 1992. After leaving NPB, he coached for Chuo University from 2007 to 2011.

Overall, Takahashi was 60-81 with a 3.34 ERA, struck out 625 and pitched 1,324 2/3 innings in 11 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio