was 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 ...

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 ...

player of the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

. He was one of the most famous

ese right-handed

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 ...

s. He was known as the because from his pitching style with the

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

. His nickname was "Tsune-Gon"(ツネゴン). He was born in

Shūnan is a city located in east central Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. As of October 1, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 143,959 and a population density of 220 persons per km2. The total area is 656.13 km2. The modern city of Shūna ...

, Yamaguchi. He retired in 1991, and died of

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

in 1993, when he was 32 years old. His memorial plate, found at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, is inscribed with the words "We will never forget about his fastball, smile, courage and bravery". He led his team in two Japan Series and won one title (1984).

Career

*1st pitch: April 10, 1982. *1st win: April 29, 1982. *

Rookie of the Year Award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

winner: 1982 * Comeback Player of the Year Award winner: 1986 *Best Pitcher of

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

Award winner: 1986 *Relief Man of the Year Award winner: 1989 *Japan

All-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

: 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 *49 W, 90 S, 19 CG, 2

Shutout 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 ...

and 542 K.

Statistics

Honours

*The minor planet 79254 Tsuda was named in his memory on June 1, 2007.

Media

Books

* Just One More Pitch - The Fastball Life of Red-Hot Reliever Tsuda Tsunemi () - NHK Books (1994) * The Last Strike (two years and three months with Tsuda Tsunemi) () - Keibunsha (1995)

Documentary and Drama

* Just One More Pitch: The Fastball Life of Red-Hot Reliever Tsuda Tsunemi -

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

(1994) * The Last Strike -

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...

(2000)

References

External links

NHK archives: NHK Special: Just One More Pitch: The Fastball Life of Red-Hot Reliever Tsuda Tsunemi
(Japanese)

(Japanese) * (Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsuda, Tsunemi 1960 births 1993 deaths Baseball people from Yamaguchi Prefecture Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Nippon Professional Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Deaths from brain cancer in Japan Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees