Yoshinori Tsuji

Yoshinori Tsuji (辻 佳紀) (Beard)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 176 lb.

• School Meiji University
• High School Tsuruga High School

• Born December 20, 1940 in Tsuruga, Fukui Japan
• Died April 25, 1989

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yoshinori Tsuji caught in Nippon Pro Baseball for 13 years.

Tsuji was signed by the Hanshin Tigers in 1963, and he spent his first season primarily in the NPB Farm Leagues, only having 38 appearances with the big club. He hit .181/.216/.297 in 1964, and he appeared in the 1964 Nippon Series. Tsuji crushed a solo shot against Mutsuo Minagawa in the 2nd inning of Game 5, but he was 0-for-13 in the other games and the Nankai Hawks beat the Tigers in 7 games. He improved to .220/.255/.350 as the starting catcher in 1965, and he was selected into the 1965 NPB All-Star Game; he was 0-for-2.

The Fukui native crushed a career-high 12 homers in 1966 with a .219/.260/.374 batting line, and he attended the 1966 NPB All-Star Game; he was 2-for-2. Tsuji then represented Japan in the 1966 Nichi-Bei Series, and he met John Roseboro of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was impressed by Roseboro's performance, so he imitated him and started to grow a beard. His teammates then called him "Beard Tsuji" in order to distinguish between him and the similarly named catcher, Yasuhiko Tsuji. Yoshinori Tsuji extended his solid batting in 1967, hitting .246/.295/.418 with 11 homers in 95 games. He was selected into the 1967 NPB All-Star Game again, and he was 0-for-3.

Tsuji's batting line fell to .197/.286/.394 in 1968, but he still crushed 10 homers. When Koichi Tabuchi joined the team in 1969, Tsuji lost his spot and he only played 37 games. He then requested a trade, and the Tigers sent him to the Kintetsu Buffaloes. Tsuji blasted a career-high 19 homers with a .195/.239/.434 batting line in 1970, and he was selected into the 1970 NPB All-Star Games; he was 0-for-1. Tsuji hit .204/.260/.315 in 1971, but he only played 50 games with a .182/.259/.314 batting line in 1972. As Shuzo Arita joined the team in 1973, Tsuji hit .156/.209/.184 as his backup in 73 games then the Buffaloes released him. The Taiyo Whales then signed him, and he hit .284/.308/.440 in 56 games in 1974. He was traded back to the Tigers after that season for Yasuhiko Tsuji, but he only played 4 games for the Tigers in 1975 and he announced his retirement. He coached the Tigers in 1976

Overall, Tsuji hit .208/.257/.353 with 486 hits and 87 homers in 13 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1970 NPB All Star Game