Kazuhiro Yamauchi (山内 一弘, Yamauchi Kazuhiro, May 1, 1932 – February 2, 2009) was a Japanese baseball player and manager. He played for the Mainichi Orions, the Hanshin Tigers and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp over the span of an 18 season-long career (1952–1970).
Yamauchi was the first Japanese professional baseball player to hit 300 home runs, achieving that feat in 1963.[1] Some of his career stats include 7,702 at bats, 1,218 runs, 2,271 hits, 396 home runs, 1,286 runs batted in, 118 stolen bases, 1,061 walks, and a batting average of .292.[1]
After retiring as a player in 1970, he went on to become an NPB manager and coach for nearly 30 years.
He was a founding member of the Meikyukai ("The Golden Players Club") in 1978, and was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.[2]
Yamauchi died of liver failure in a Tokyo hospital on February 2, 2009. He was 76.[2]
See also
- List of top Nippon Professional Baseball home run hitters
- List of Nippon Professional Baseball players with 1,000 runs batted in
References
- ^ a b "Yamauchi, NPB's 1st 300-HR man, dies at 76," Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 6, 2009).
- ^ a b Hitting legend Yamauchi dies at 76
External links
- Collection of links
- Nippon Professional Baseball career statistics from JapaneseBaseball.com
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