Yoshio Kitagawa

Yoshio Kitagawa (北川 芳男)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 150 lbs.

• High School Sahara High School

• Born October 18, 1932 in Sahara, Chiba Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yoshio Kitagawa pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 7 years.

Kitagawa was signed by the Kokutetsu Swallows in 1959, and he joined the rotation as a rookie. He led the Central League with 37 starts and 274 hits allowed, and he also had a 18-20 record with a 2.51 ERA. He ranked 6th in wins (tied with Minoru Murayama), 6th in ERA (between Yoshio Bizen and Michio Ukari), 7th in appearances (54, tied with Minoru Murayama) and 10th in strikeouts (between Takashi Suzuki and Bizen). He was also selected into the 1959 NPB All-Star Game, and he relieved Murayama in the 3rd inning of Game 1. However, Kitagawa allowed 3 runs in 2 innings included a 2-run home run by Kazuhiro Yamauchi, and he got the loss. He was 4-7 with a 2.63 ERA in 1960.

The Chiba native bounced back in 1961, and he was selected into the 1961 NPB All-Star Game. He was named the starter of Game 1, and he pitched 3 shutout innings. Kitagawa ended up 15-15 with a 1.90 ERA, ranking 7th in wins (between Minoru Nakamura and Genichi Murata), 6th in losses (tied with Noboru Akiyama), 2nd in ERA (.20 behind Hiroshi Gondo) and 7th in innings (between Nakamura and Akiyama). He had a 9-10 record with a 2.21 ERA in 1962, and he was 8th in ERA (between Minoru Kakimoto and Kunio Jonouchi). The Swallows then traded him to the Yomiuri Giants for Toshio Miyamoto and Tsuneo Takabayashi.

Kitagawa attended 1963 NPB All-Star Game 2, and he surrendered a solo shot to Kihachi Enomoto in the 6th inning. He ended up 11-7 with a 2.45 ERA in 1963, and he was 5th in ERA (between Makoto Inagawa and Toshitake Nakayama). In the 1963 Nippon Series, he allowed a run in an inning in Game 1, pitching 2/3 of a shutout inning in Game 4 then surrendered another run in an inning in Game 6. The Giants beat the Nishitetsu Lions in 7 games, and Kitagawa won his first Nippon Series title. He was then moved to the bullpen, and he had a 3.25 ERA in 35 games in 1964. Kitagawa pitched 40 games with a 2.93 ERA in 1965, and he pitched a shutout inning in 1965 Nippon Series Game 4. The Giants beat the Nankai Hawks in 5 games, and Kitagawa announced his retirement after this season. He then coached the Giants from 1966 to 1969 and for the Kintetsu Buffaloes from 1972 to 1973.

Overall, Takahashi was 68-67 with a 2.46 ERA, struck out 486 and pitched 1,258 1/3 innings in 7 years in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• Bio
• 1963 NPB All-Star Game