Yukitsura Matsumoto

Yukitsura Matsumoto (松本 幸行)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 176 lbs.

• High School Osaka University of Commerce High School

• Born June 5, 1947 in Osaka, Osaka, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yukitsura Matsumoto pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 12 years and once led the league in wins.

Matsumoto was drafted by the Chunichi Dragons in the fourth round of the 1969 NPB draft, and he had a 2.55 ERA in 22 appearances in 1969. He joined the rotation in 1970 and went 5-5 with a 2.98 ERA. The young southpaw was selected into the All-Star Game for the first time in his career in the next summer, and pitched a shutout inning in both Game 1 and Game 3. He was 13-8 with a 3.14 ERA in 1972, then improved to 14-11 with a 2.38 ERA in 1973. Matsumoto ranked 9th in the Central League in wins (10 behind Yutaka Enatsu), 7th in complete games (11 behind Kazumi Takahashi) and 7th in ERA (.35 behind Takeshi Yasuda).

The Osaka native had a career year in 1974, when he collected a league-leading 20 wins with a 3.13 ERA. He also pitched in 1974 NPB All-Star Game 2, but he allowed 2 runs in 2 innings and got the loss. In the 1974 Nippon Series, Matsumoto started in Game 1, but he allowed 2 runs in 2 innings and ended up with a no-decision. He then beat Fumio Narita and the Lotte Orions in Game 3 as he pitched 7 2/3 inning with 4 runs. His last start was in Game 6, and he pitched 4 1/3 innings with 2 runs allowed. Choji Murata completed the game and help the Orions got the title.

Matsumoto was still productive in 1975 as he went 17-15 with a 2.41 ERA. He was 3rd in wins (3 behind Yoshiro Sotokoba) and 3rd in ERA (.49 behind Sohachi Aniya). He pitched a shutout inning in 1975 NPB All-Star Game 3. The 1976 season was his last productive season for the Chunichi, he recorded a 3.96 ERA while collecting 15 wins (4th in CL, 5 behind Kojiro Ikegaya). His ERA was never lower then 4.9 in the next three seasons, and the Dragons traded him to the Hankyu Braves for Norietsu Saegusa after the 1979 season. Matsumoto bounced back in 1980 as he was 10-5 with a .388 ERA, but his ERA rose to 6.53 in 1981 and he announced his retirement after that season.

Overall, Matsumoto was 111-98 with a 3.53 ERA, struck out 638 and pitched 1,840 2/3 innings in 12 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio