was a Japanese

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

player. He played for the

Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

and

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

. In 1986, Tanabe was one of several Lions players who played on loan for the San Jose Bees. He led the club in hits, home runs, and

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. In 2002, Tanabe rejoined the Lions as a coach. He was serving as the club's hitting coach when he took over as manager in June 2014. On September 27, 2016, Tanabe announced he would resign at the end of the season.

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1966 births Japanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Living people Managers of baseball teams in Japan Nippon Professional Baseball infielders San Jose Bees players Seibu Lions managers Seibu Lions players Baseball people from Yamanashi Prefecture Yomiuri Giants players {{japan-baseball-infielder-stub