Yuji Inoue

Yuji Inoue (井上 祐二)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 200 lb.

• High School Miyakonojo High School

• Born March 2, 1963 in Nichinan, Miyazaki Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Yuji Inoue pitched in Nippon Professional Baseball for 17 years and once led the league in saves.

Inoue was drafted by the Nankai Hawks in the second round of the 1980 NPB draft, but he spent almost his entire rookie season in the NPB Farm Leagues, only pitched one game for the big club. He was promoted to the big club in 1982, and he had a 4.08 ERA in 20 starts as a regular starter. He plunked Bobby Marcano's head and was ejected on August 6, becoming the first player ever to be ejected due to dangerous pitching. However, Inoue slumped to 6-10 with a 5.21 ERA in 1983, and he was removed from the rotation in the middle of this season. He suffered kidney disease and missed nearly the entire 1984 season.

After recovering from the disease, Inoue was used as a reliever in 1985, but he had a terrible 2-13 record and a 5.40 ERA in 33 appearances. The Hawks named him as their closer in the middle of the 1986 season, and he went 4-8 with 11 saves. He notched 14 saves with a 3.24 ERA in 1987, and collected 20 saves with a solid 2.35 ERA in 1988. He ranked 3rd in the Pacific League in saves in 1988, 5 behind Kazuhiko Ushijima.

The Miyazaki native won his first Fireman of the Year award in 1989 as he collected a career-high 21 saves with a 3.30 ERA and pitched a league-leading 57 games. Nevertheless, Inoue wanted to become a starter in 1990, and his ERA rose to 4.70. He still struggled in the next five seasons as his ERA was never lower than 5, and the Hawks traded him to the Hiroshima Toyo Carp for cash in the middle of the 1994 season. Inoue came back as he recorded a 2.68 ERA in 52 relief outings in 1995, but he then declined to 3-3 with a 5.36 ERA in 1996. The Carp traded him with Yoshihisa Kondo to the Chiba Lotte Marines after this season, but he only pitched 13 games for them and announced his retirement after the 1997 season. After retiring, Inoue was the pitching coach for the Marines from 1999 to 2000 and from 2002 to 2009. He coached their minor league team in 2001 and worked as bullpen coach for them from 2010 to 2012.

Overall, Inoue was 54-68, collected 77 saves with a 4.41 ERA, struck out 749 and pitched 1,186 1/3 innings in 17 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio