Yoshio Bizen

Yoshio Bizen (備前 喜夫)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 140 lb.

• High School Onomichi Nishi High School

• Born October 9, 1933 in Onomichi, Hiroshima Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yoshio Bizen pitched for the Hiroshima Carp for 11 seasons. He was known for his sinker.

Bizen debuted in 1952. In his first game, March 21, he went the distance for a win, but he finished the season 7-17 with a 4.30 ERA. Yoshio had a 13-20, 3.80 record in 1953. He led the Central League with 282 hits allowed, 130 runs allowed and 105 earned runs allowed.

The right-hander went 10-10 with a 3.86 ERA in 1954. He was 13-18 with a 2.54 ERA in 1955, finishing 10th in the CL in ERA even though he led in runs allowed (106) and earned runs allowed (82).

Yoshio made the CL All-Star in 1956 when he was 13-22 with a 3.13 ERA. He made 11 errors, setting the CL record for a pitcher. In 1957, he pitched 51 games and went 20-13 with a 2.51 ERA for a Carp team that was just 54-75-1. He just missed the top 10 in the league in ERA.

Bizen had a 9-10, 2.40 record in 1958 then went 17-20 with a 2.19 ERA in 1959, when he made his second and last All-Star squad. He was 5th in the league in ERA in perhaps his best season.

Yoshio had an even lower (1.56 ERA) in 1960 but did not qualify for the ERA title; had he done so, he would have led the league, .19 ahead of Noboru Akiyama. Bizen went 7-8 that season. In 1961, he fell to 5-8, 2.65 then was just 1-3 with a 5.19 ERA and .318 opponent average in 1962, his final campaign.

Bizen had a career record of 115-149, 2.96 while toiling for some poor Hiroshima clubs. After retiring as a pitcher, he coached and scouted for Hiroshima and managed their minor league team.

Source: Japan Baseball Daily by Gary Garland