Yuji Kasama

Yuji Kasama (笠間 雄二)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 191 lbs.

• High School Kanazawa High School

• Born March 22, 1953 in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yuji Kasama caught in Nippon Pro Baseball for 8 years.

Kasama was selected by the Yomiuri Giants in the sixth round of the 1976 NPB draft, and he primarily spent his first three seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues, only having 100 at-bats combined with the big club. The Giants then traded him with Masahiro Yanagida to the Hankyu Braves for Hiroaki Nagamoto. Kasama was 3-for-31 in 1980, then the Braves traded him to the Hanshin Tigers for Shinnosuke Kataoka. He hit .222/.301/.413 in 36 games in 1981. As a backup behind Yoshiharu Wakana, Kasama played 88 games with a .207/.291/.341 batting line in 1982. The Tigers then named him their starting catcher in 1983, and he had his career year. Kasama hit .271/.356/.400 with a career-high 12 homers, and he was also selected into the 1983 NPB All-Star Game; he was 0-for-4. However, Kasama had a severe right elbow injury in 1984, and he announced his retirement. He then coached the Tigers from 1985 to 1991 and in 2001.

Overall, Kasama hit .236/.318/.355 with 198 hits and 25 homers in 8 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1983 NPB All Star Game