Yukio Ozaki

Yukio Ozaki (尾崎 行雄)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 182 lb.

• High School Naniwa Shogyo High School

• Born September 11, 1944 in Izumiotsu, Osaka Japan
• Died June 13, 2013 in Tokyo Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yukio Ozaki was a three-time All-Star in 12 seasons in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Ozaki debuted with the Toei Flyers in 1962. On April 29, he fanned eight in a row. For the year, he had a 20-9, 2.43 record with a .222 opponent average and 196 strikeouts in 207 2/3 IP. He was named the Pacific League Rookie of the Year and made the All-Star team. He finished 6th in ERA, between Tadao Wako and Mutsuo Minagawa. In the 1962 Japan Series, the only Japan Series Toei ever played in, he lost game one in relief to the Hanshin Tigers (2 H, BB, R in 2/3 IP) and did not appear again. Toei still went on to win thanks to the pitching of moundmates Motohiro Ando, Masayuki Dobashi and Osamu Kubota.

In 1963, he had a sophomore slump, falling off to 7-5, 2.90. He rebounded to a 2.55 ERA in 1964, going 20-18 and allowing a .223 average. He struck out 197 and made his second All-Star team. He led the PL in strikeouts and was 6th in ERA, between Tetsuya Yoneda and Yozo Ishikawa.

Yukio made his last All-Star squad in 1965, his best overall campaign at 27-12, 1.88. He struck out 259 in 378 innings while allowing a .194 average and a .86 WHIP. He started 37 games (26 complete games) and relieved in 24 others. He led the PL in games pitched, innings pitched, wins, batters faced (1,444), complete games, shutouts (6) and strikeouts. He was second to Kiyohiro Miura in ERA and was named to the Best Nine as the top PL pitcher. He failed to take the Sawamura Award as NPB's top pitcher as that went to Minoru Murayama of the Central League.

#19 was again a workhorse in 1966 with 29 starts (15 complete games) and 36 relief appearances. He worked 292 innings and was 24-17 with a 2.62 ERA; his strikeout total dipped significantly, to 122. He fell to 8th in ERA, between Tsutomu Tanaka and Mitsuhiro Adachi. In 1967, the right-hander was only 6-14 with a 3.06 ERA. He did become the 43rd NPB pitcher to 100 wins, when he beat the Nankai Hawks on May 3.

His arm dead, Ozaki sputtered to a 6.16 ERA in 19 innings in 1968, a 0-2, 5.71 record in 1969, 0-2, 5.86 in 1970 and 0-3, 4.46 in 1971. He won his first game in five seasons in 1972, going 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA in 17 games and reaching 1,000 career strikeouts, the 45th NPB hurler to that mark. He allowed nine runs and four homers in six innings in 1973 to conclude his career.

Ozaki finished his career 107-83 with a 2.70 ERA and 1,010 strikeouts in 1,548 2/3 IP. He later operated a restaurant in Tokyo and worked for a sporting goods company. He died of lung cancer at age 68.

Source: Japan Baseball Daily