Yutaka Ikeuchi

Yutaka Ikeuchi (池内 豊)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 178 lbs.

• High School Shido Shogyo High School

• Born April 7, 1952 in Sanuki, Kagawa, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yutaka Ikeuchi pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 14 years.

Ikeuchi was drafted by the Nankai Hawks in the fourth round of the 1970 NPB draft, but he spent his first five seasons primarily in the NPB Farm Leagues, only pitching 7 games combined with the big club. He was traded with Takenori Emoto, Ikuo Shimano and Tsutomu Hasegawa to the Hanshin Tigers for Yutaka Enatsu and Mitsuru Mochizuki after the 1975 season, and he had a 4.83 ERA in 21 appearances in 1976. Ikeuchi had a 4.06 ERA in 42 games in 1977, and his ERA was 3.65 in 42 games in 1978. He collected 13 saves with a 3.67 ERA in 1979, ranking 3rd in saves (tied with Hiromu Matsuoka) and 4th in appearances (tied with Tatsuo Komatsu) in the Central League. Ikeuchi then led the league with 56 appearances in 1980, and he collected 8 saves with a 4.02 ERA.

The Sanuki native only pitched 38 games with a 3.57 ERA in 1981, then he had a career-high 73 appearances with a 3.98 ERA in 1982. He broke the Central League record for most games pitched in 1982 (broken by Osamu Fukuma two years later) Ikeuchi's ERA was 3.49 in 64 games in 1983, and he was 2nd in appearances (5 behind Fukuma). He had a 3.41 ERA in 33 games in 1984, then the Tigers traded him to the Taiyo Whales for Keiichi Nagasaki. Ikeuchi had a 4.97 ERA in 23 games for the Whales in 1985, and he was released. The Hankyu Braves picked him up, but he only pitched 5 more games for them then he announced his retirement. He then coached the Orix BlueWave from 1994 to 1999, the Chunichi Dragons from 2000 to 2002. He worked as pitching coach for the KIA Tigers from 2003 to 2005.

Overall, Ikeuchi was 31-31 with a 3.92 ERA, notched 30 saves in 452 appearances, struck out 461 and pitched 782 2/3 innings in 14 years in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio