Yutaka Enatsu

Yutaka Enatsu (江夏 豊)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 198 lb.

• High School Osaka Gakuin High School

• Born May 15, 1948 in Yoshino-gun, Nara Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Left hander Yukata Enatsu was one of the top Japanese pitchers of all time. He was one of the first closers in Japanese baseball history, assuming the role in the late 1970s.

Enatsu was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers, Yomiuri Giants, Hankyu Braves and Toei Flyers in the first round of the 1966 NPB draft, and the Tigers won the lottery for the rights to him. He soon joined their rotation as a rookie, and he was also selected into the 1967 NPB All-Star Game. He pitched 1 2/3 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts (against Tokuji Nagaike and Fujio Yamaguchi) for the Central League in Game 1, then he added another 2 shutout innings in Game 2. Enatsu relieved Minoru Murayama in the 4th inning of Game 3, but allowed a grand slam to Katsuo Osugi, and he got the loss against the Pacific League. He was 12-13 with a 2.74 ERA in 1967, and he broke the Central League record for most strikeouts in a rookie season. He led the league with 225 strikeouts and 88 walks, ranking 10th in ERA (tied with Shigeyuki Takahashi), 8th in complete games (tied with Sohachi Aniya and Susumu Sato) and 9th in wins (tied with Tsuneo Horiuchi, Takahashi and Shiroku Ishido). Although Enatsu's numbers were incredible, he still lost the CL Rookie of the Year award to Shiro Takegami.

The young ace of the Tigers had one of the most dominant years in his second season as a professional player. After pitching coach Giichi Hayashi taught him how to control his curveball, Enatsu ruled the entire league. He struck out 16 batters on August 8 against the Chunichi Dragons, and that was still the CL record as of 2024 (the NPB record was set by Roki Sasaki in his perfect game in 2022 with 19). He also set the NPB record with strikeouts in 23 consecutive innings, which would last 34 years until Chih-Chia Chang broke it. He relieved Gentaro Shimada in the 4th inning of 1968 NPB All-Star Game 1, and he struck out 5 in 3 shutout innings. Enatsu also pitched an inning in Game 3, but he surrendered a 3-run shot to Kenji Koike. On September 17, Enatsu collected his 354th strikeout of the season, against the best hitter of the league, Sadaharu Oh, and he broke Kazuhisa Inao's NPB record for most strikeouts in a season. He ended up 25-12 with a 2.13 ERA and 401 strikeouts in 1968, and he still held the K record as of 2024. Enatsu led the league in wins, complete games (26), shutouts (8) and innings (329), and he was 3rd in ERA (between Aniya and Gene Bacque). He also won his first Best Nine, and he became the youngest southpaw to win the Sawamura Award.

Enatsu extended his elite performance in 1969, and he won his first ERA title with a career-best 1.81 ERA. He had a 15-10 record with 262 strikeouts, leading the league in shutouts, complete games and strikeouts for the second straight year. He also tied Ritsuo Yamashita for the 5th in wins, and he had a 41-inning streak without allowing any runs. Enatsu struggled again in the All-Star Game after he replaced Tomoo Wako in the 7th inning in Game 2, and he allowed 5 runs that included a 2-run shot to Yoshinori Hirose and got the loss. He was 21-17 with a 2.13 ERA in 1970, leading the league in innings, shutouts, complete games, strikeouts, hits and homers allowed. Enatsu was 3rd in wins (between Hidetake Watanabe and Horiuchi) and 5th in ERA (between Horiuchi and Wako). He was named the starter of 1970 NPB All-Star Game 2, and he fanned 8 to get the win over Mutsuo Minagawa; he won the MVP.

The Nara native shined in the All-Star Game again in the next season. As the starter of Game 1, he struck out all 9 batters he faced and won the MVP again. He set the All-Star record for most strikeouts in a game, and the record would never be broken as pitchers can't pitch more than 3 innings in an All-Star Game. Enatsu also crushed a 3-run homer against Tetsuya Yoneda, and that was the last homer hit by a pitcher in an All-Star Game. He ended up 15-14 with a 2.39 ERA, and he led the league in strikeouts for the fifth straight season. Enatsu also led in shutouts and complete games, ranking 8th in ERA (between Masaji Hiramatsu and Hisatoshi Ito) and 2nd in wins (2 behind Hiramatsu). He started again in the 1972 NPB All-Star Game 3, and he struck out 5 in 3 shutout innings to get the win. He became the first pitcher to led the league in strikeouts for 6 straight years in 1972, and he had a 23-8 record with a 2.53 ERA in that season. Enatsu was 3rd in ERA (between Tomohiro Tanimura and Hisanobu Mizutani), 3rd in shutouts (5 behind Mitsuo Inaba) and 2nd in wins (3 behind Horiuchi).

On August 30, 1973, Enatsu threw hitless ball against the Chunichi Dragons for 11 innings. However, his opponent Yukitsura Matsumoto also pitched 11 shutout innings, so Enatsu decided to end it by himself. He crushed a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning, and he completed his first no-hitter. Enatsu led the league with 24 wins in that season, and his ERA was 2.58 with 215 strikeouts. He was 10th in ERA (between Jun Misawa and Yoshiro Sotokoba) and 3rd in strikeouts (between Hiromu Matsuoka and Jiro Ueda). In the 1973 NPB All-Star Games, he pitched 2 shutout innings in Game 2, and he added a shutout inning in Game 3. Due to a right elbow injury, Enatsu was not as dominant as before in 1974, and he was sometimes used as reliever. He went 12-14 with 8 saves in that season, and his ERA was 2.73. Enatsu still ranked 5th in ERA (between Horiuchi and Hiromu Matsuoka), 9th in wins (tied with Keishi Asano and Kunikazu Ogawa), 2nd in saves (2 behind Senichi Hoshino) and 5th in strikeouts (between Asano and Matsuoka).

Enatsu was named the starter of 1975 NPB All-Star Game 1, and he pitched 3 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts to get the win over Kouji Ota. He notched 6 saves with a 3.07 ERA and a 12-12 record in the 1975 season, and he was 10th in wins (tied with Aniya and Hiramatsu), 4th in strikeouts (between Hiramatsu and Kojiro Ikegaya) and 10th in ERA (betwen Takamasa Suzuki and Takahashi. However, Enatsu had a conflict with his manager, Yoshio Yoshida, so the Tigers decided to trade him with Mitsuru Mochizuki to the Nankai Hawks for Takenori Emoto, Ikuo Shimano, Tsutomu Hasegawa and Yutaka Igeuchi. Enatsu went 6-12 with 9 saves for the Hawks in his first season with them, and he was 8th in strikeouts (between Koichi Nakayama and Masaharu Mitsui).

Hawks manager Nomura turned Enatsu into a reliever in 1977, and he became one of the first full-time closers in Japanese baseball history. He collected a league-leading 19 saves with a 2.79 ERA, and he win his first Fireman of the Year award. He also set a NPB record by collecting a save in 6 straight games. However, when Nomura left the team, Enatsu requested a trade, and the Hawks sent him to the Hiroshima Carp for cash. Enatsu was still an elite closer for the Carp, and he notched 12 saves with a 3.03 ERA in 1978. He was 3rd in saves (3 behind Hisao Niura) and 8th in appearances (14 behind Niura). He also pitched 2 shutout innings in 1978 NPB All-Star Game 1, and he notched a save with 1/3 of a shutout inning in Game 3.

Enatsu improved to a 2.66 ERA in 55 appearances in 1979, and he notched 22 saves. He led the CL in saves, ranking 2nd in appearances (3 behind Yutaka Ono) and won his second Fireman of the Year award. He relieved Hajime Kato in the 7th inning of the 1979 NPB All-Star Game 1, and he notched a save with 2 runs allowed in 3 innings. Enatsu allowed 3 runs in an inning in the 1979 Nippon Series Game 1, and he pitched 2 shutout innings to get a save in Game 3. In Game 7, He succeeded Hiroaki Fukushi in the 9th inning when the Carp had a one-run lead, but he gave up a single to Koichi Hada and Hada advanced to third after Yoshihiko Takahashi committed an error when trying to catch Hada stealing. Enatsu then walked Chris Arnold, and he intentionally walked Mitsuyasu Hirano to load the bases. The Buffaloes only needed a single to win the game, and Kyosuke Sasaki hit a line drive to third. Toshiyuki Mimura couldn't catch it, but it was a foul ball. Enastu then struck out Sasaki, and the Buffaloes tried a squeeze bunt. However, Shigeru Ishiwata missed the bunt, and Enatsu got the second out. He then struck out Ishiwata and saved his first Nippon Series title. Enatsu only used 21 pitches to complete this inning. He was named the CL MVP this season.

After winning his first championship, Enatsu extended his reliable performance, collecting 21 saves with a 2.62 ERA and a 9-6 record in 1980. He won his third Fireman of the Year, leading the league in saves and ranking 5th in appearances (between Kazuhiko Endo and Yoshitaka Katori). He notched a save in 1980 NPB All-Star Game 1, and he struck out all three batters he faced (Leron Lee, Michiyo Arito and Shinichi Yamauchi) when the bases were loaded to notch another save in Game 3 and got his third All-Star MVP. In the 1980 Nippon Series Game 1, Enatsu succeeded Hiroaki Fukushi and pitched 4 2/3 innings, but he got the loss due to Hata's clutch 2-run shot. He then pitched 2 shutout innings and collected a save in Game 3, and he repeat last year's performance in Game 7. Enatsu relieved Kazuo Yamane in the 6th inning, and he completed 3 shutout innings to beat the Buffaloes and win his second title.

The Nippon Ham Fighters offered the Carp their ace Naoki Takahashi after the '80 season, and Enatsu went to his fourth team in his career. He still dominated the PL in 1981, and he became the first pitcher to collect 100 career saves on May 6. Enatsu attended the 1981 NPB All-Star Games, and he got the save with a shutout inning in Game 1 while allowing 2 runs in 2 innings in Game 2. He ended up having 25 saves with a 2.82 ERA that season, and he won the Fireman of the Year again, the first time doing so in the PL. In the 1981 Nippon Series, he allowed 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning in Game 1, and he notched a save in Game 3. Enatsu pitched another shutout inning with 2 strikeouts in Game 6, but the Yomiuri Giants still beat them in that game. He was named the PL MVP (getting 698 vote points, 207 ahead of #2 Junichi Kashiwabara), and he became the first pitcher to win the MVP in both leagues.

Enatsu improved to a 1.98 ERA in 55 relief outings in 1982, and he won his 5th Fireman of the Year award. He led the league in saves again, and he was 2nd in games pitched (2 behind Motoyasu Kaneshiro). Enatsu pitched a shutout inning in 1982 NPB All-Star Game 2, and he struck out two (Tadashi Matsumoto and Kiyoshi Nakahata). He notched a career-high 34 saves with a 2.33 ERA in 1983, and he led the league in saves for the fifth straight year. He also won his 6th and final Fireman of the Year award, and he was the first pitcher to win it five years in a row. In the 1983 NPB All-Star Games, Enatsu notched a save with a shutout inning in both Game 1 and 2, then he complete 2/3 of a shutout inning in game 3.

The Fighters traded him to the Seibu Lions for Yasumitsu Shibata and Hiroshi Kimura) after the '83 season, but he struggled in 1984 as his ERA rose to 3.65 in 20 games with 8 saves. At age 38, he had a tryout with the Milwaukee Brewers after the Lions released him. He ended his career with 193 saves, which was a record at the time (later broken by Kazuhiro Sasaki). When he failed to make the Brewers, he retired instead of going to AAA. Enatsu was jailed in 1993 for heroin possession and spent three years in jail.

Overall, Enatsu was 206-158 with a 2.49 ERA, notched 193 saves in 829 appearances and struck out 2,987 in 3,196 innings in 18 years in the NPB. Despite spending a good portion of his career in the bullpen, Enatsu ranks (as of September 2024) 21st in NPB in wins with 203 (between Hiroshi Nakao and Horiuchi), 12th with 45 shutouts (tied with Nakao), 5th in strikeouts (between Keishi Suzuki and Takao Kajimoto), 23rd in complete games (tied with Kozo Naito), 12th in saves (between Tatsushi Masuda and Takahiro Mahara), 20th in innings (between Shigeo Ishii and Matsuoka) and 16th in ERA (between Nakao and Tokuji Kawasaki).