Yukiya Yokoyama

Yukiya Yokoyama (横山 道哉) (Daimajin Jr.)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 216 lb.

• High School Yokohama High School

• Born June 1, 1977 in Ebina, Kanagawa Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Yukiya Yokoyama pitched in Nippon Professional Baseball for 12 years and once led the league in saves.

Yokoyama was drafted by the Yokohama BayStars in the third round of the 1995 NPB draft, but he spent the first season in the NPB Farm Leagues. He joined the big club bullpen in 1997, and recorded a 1.67 ERA in 18 relief outings. The young righty became the main setup man for the BayStars in 1998, having a solid 3.09 ERA in 53 appearances. Because he and Yokohama's closer Kazuhiro Sasaki both used forkballs as their main breaking ball, he was called "Daimajin Jr" (Sasaki was nicknamed Daimajin). In the 1998 Nippon Series, Yokoyama pitched a shutout inning in both Game 3 and Game 4, and won his only Nippon Series title with the BayStars, helping Yokohama win its first title.

When Sasaki was injured in 1999, Yokoyama was expected to fill his role. However, he slumped to 3-2 with a 4.93 ERA. He still struggled as his ERA was 4.78 in 29 appearances in 2000, and he only pitched 20 games combined in the next three seasons. The BayStars traded him to the Nippon-Ham Fighters for Shingo Nonaka after the 2003 season.

The Kanagawa native miraculously came back and secured the closer spot in 2004. He notched a Pacific League-leading 28 saves with a 3.39 ERA, and shared the Fireman of the Year award with Koji Mise. He also pitched a shutout inning with 2 strikeouts and got the save in 2004 NPB All-Star Game 2. In the Climax Series, he notched a save against the Seibu Lions in Game 2, but he gave up a walk-off homer to Kazuhiro Wada in Game 3 and the Fighters lost the series. Yokoyama still notched 12 saves in 2005, but his ERA rose to 4.47. When Hisashi Takeda and Micheal Nakamura shined in 2006, the veteran stayed in ni-gun for the entire season, and the Fighters released him.

The BayStars picked him up, and Yokoyama bounced back with a 3.32 ERA in 36 games in 2007. He improved and collected 11 holds with a 3.22 ERA in 2008, but he injured his elbow again in 2009. Yokoyama only pitched 14 games in 2009, then announced his retirement. After retiring, he worked as scout for the BayStars.

Overall, Yokoyama was 21-26, collected 20 holds and 45 saves with a 3.89 ERA, struck out 387 and pitched 449 innings in 12 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio
• 2004 NPB All-Star Game 2 Box
• 1998 Nippon Series