Yoshiyuki Sano

Yoshiyuki Sano (佐野 嘉幸)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 158 lb.

• High School Kofu Kogyo High School

• Born April 1, 1944 in Kofu, Yamanashi Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yoshiyuki Sano played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 17 years.

Sano was signed by the Toei Flyers in 1963, and he spent his first two seasons primarily in the NPB Farm Leagues, only having 18 appearances with the big club. He hit .213/.258/.339 in 1965, then he improved to .259/.295/.358 in 1966. Sano slumped to .227/.278/.342 in 1967, and his batting line even fell to .182/.225/.268 in 1968. He bounced back in 1969, and he hit .268/.305/.349 with a career-high 19 doubles. He was also selected into the 1969 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 0-for-2. However, he struggled in 1970 as his batting line was .190/.229/.278, and he lost his spot so he only played 40 games in 1971.

The Flyers then traded him with Takenori Emoto to the Nankai Hawks for Hiroshi Takahashi. He replaced Kenji Koike as the starting shortstop for the Hawks, and he hit .256/.302/.369 in 112 games in 1972. He improved to .263/.314/.343 in 1973, and he also appeared in the 1973 Nippon Series. However, Sano was 0-for-12 and the Hawks lost to the Yomiuri Giants in 5 games. He had a .240/.284/.344 batting line in 1974, then the Hawks sent him to the Hiroshima Carp in the middle of the 1975 season after he hit .115/.179/.231 in 23 games.

Sano bounced back after changing teams as his batting line was .250/.294/.375, and the Carp won the Central League pennant. In the 1975 Nippon Series, he was 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter in each of Game 2 and 3, then he hit a clutch game-tying RBI single against Takashi Yamaguchi in the 13th inning of Game 3. He was 0-for-1 in Game 6, and the Hankyu Braves beat the Carp to win the title. Sano hit .243/.283.431 in 64 games for the Carp in 1976, but he only got 94 at-bats combined in the next three seasons and he announced his retirement in 1979. Sano then coached the Carp from 1980 to 1985, the OB Bears in 1986, the Nippon Ham Fighters from 1991 to 2000 and for the Chiba Lotte Marines from 2004 to 2008.

Overall, Sano hit .237/.280/.340 with 747 hits and 56 homers in 17 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1969 NPB All Star Game