Tetsuya Yoneda ( ja, 米田哲也, born March 3, 1938) is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who spent most of his career with the

Hankyu Braves The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

in Japan's

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 ...

. He was so tough that he was known as Gasoline Tank and also ''Human Tank''. Yoneda was inducted into the

Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame The is a museum which includes a library, reference rooms and . It first opened in 1959 next door to Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. In 1988, the museum moved to a new site within the Tokyo Dome. The Hall of Fame and Museum was created as ...

in 2000.

Career

Yoneda attended

Sakai is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...

High School."Tatsuya Yoneda,"
Baseball-Reference.com. Accessed Apr. 6, 2015. He was signed out of high school by the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

, but his selection was invalidated after Hankyu complained of an impropriety; he then signed with Hankyu. Yoneda won 21 games at age 19, and 23 games at age 20 in 1958. That year he also tossed 11

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, a Pacific League record that still stands. Yoneda led the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently cons ...

(PL) in losses in 1959 with 24 (despite a 2.12 ERA and 20 complete games, including five shutouts). He led the Pacific League in strikeouts in 1962 with 231. In 1963 Yoneda again led the PL in losses with 23. In 1966 Yoneda led the PL in wins with 25, and innings pitched with 310. In 1968 Yoneda went 29-13, with a 2.79 ERA and 237 strikeouts. He had 22 complete games and 6 shutouts, winning the Pacific League

Most Valuable Player Award In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. The Braves made it to the Japan Series three straight years (1967–1969) losing all three times to the Yomiuri Giants. During his career, Yoneda won 20 or more games eight separate times. In total he won 350 games and accumulated 3,388 strikeouts. He is the career victories and strikeout leader for right-handed pitchers, and #2 on both all-time lists behind

Masaichi Kaneda was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher of Zainichi Korean origin, one of the best-known pitchers in Japanese baseball history, and is the only Japanese pitcher to have won 400 games. He was inducted in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in ...

. Yoneda was also a strong hitter for a pitcher, slugging 33 home runs in his 22 seasons in NPB. Yoneda was a founding member of

Meikyukai The is one of the two baseball halls of fame in Japan, the other being the . The Meikyukai is a limited company for public benefit. Founded by Hall of Fame pitcher Masaichi Kaneda in 1978, the Meikyukai honors players born after 1926 (the begi ...

in 1978.

Notes

References

* 1938 births Living people Japanese baseball players Hankyu Braves players Hanshin Tigers players Kintetsu Buffaloes players Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners category:Japanese baseball coaches Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Nippon Professional Baseball coaches {{japan-baseball-pitcher-stub