Yukinobu Miyamoto

Yukinobu Miyamoto (宮本 幸信)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 190 lb.

• School Chuo University
• High School Shinko Municipal High School

• Born June 3, 1945 in Kobe, Hyogo Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Yukinobu Miyamoto pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Japanese national team.

Miyamoto represented Japan in the 1967 Asian Championship. The Hankyu Braves drafted him in the third round of the 1967 NPB draft. Miyamoto recorded a 3.11 ERA in 38 games in his rookie year, and pitched three shutout innings in the 1968 Nippon Series, when Hankyu fell to the Yomiuri Giants. He joined the rotation in the next year, and went 7-3 with a 2.91 ERA. In the 1969 Nippon Series, Miyamoto started in Game 2, pitched 8 innings and only allowed 1 run to help the Braves win that game. He then started in Game 4, but the Giants drove in 6 runs in the 4th inning, which gave him the loss. Miyamoto started again in Game 6, only allowing a run in 3 innings, but he couldn't stop the Giants from winning the Nippon Series Title with Kazumi Takahashi's complete game.

Miyamoto extended his solid pitching in 1970. He collected 8 wins and 9 losses with a 3.81 ERA. The Braves often used him as a swingman between rotation and bullpen, so Miyamoto never started more than 15 games in the next four years. He pitched 34 games with a 4.19 ERA in 1971, then his ERA rose to 4.33 in 52 1/3 innings pitched. The Hyogo native bounced back soon, when he lowered his ERA to 3.54 in 61 innings in 1973. In 1974, he collected 5 wins and 3 saves with a 3.63 ERA in 35 appearances. The Braves traded him with Yoshihiro Kodama and Hiroki Watanabe to the Hiroshima Carp for Shizuo Shiraishi and Yataro Oishi.

The Carp decided to let Miyamoto become a full-time reliever, and he recorded a career year in the 1975 season. He notched 10 wins and 10 saves with an elite 1.70 ERA. In the 1975 Nippon Series, he allowed 4 runs in 6 innings, and got a loss in Game 3 against his old Hankyu club. He slumped to 4-3 with a 4.60 ERA in 1976, then the Carp traded him with Toshimi Kubo and Kazushi Saeki to the Nippon Ham Fighters for Junzo Uchida, Katsuo Ukai, Yasuo Minagawa and Satoshi Niimi.

Miyamoto pitched well in the first season with the Fighters. He recorded a 2.00 ERA and notched 7 saves and 6 wins in 41 relief outings. He also became the first pitcher to throw 3 hit-by-pitches in a inning on May 19, which is still a NPB record. This was the last productive season for him. Miyamoto's ERA rose to 5.09 in 1978, and it got even worse at 10.71 in 1979. The Fighters released him after the 1979 season, and the Taiyo Whales picked him up. Miyamoto still struggled after changing teams. After he allowing 7 runs in just 6 innings pitched, he announced his retirement after the 1980 season.

Overall, Miyamoto was 54-42 with a 3.63 ERA and pitched 941 2/3 innings in 13 seasons in NPB.