was a Japanese professional baseball outfielder, first baseman and third baseman, and coach in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He played for the Chunichi Dragons and Nippon Ham Fighters from 1971 to 1994. He went on to manage the Fighters from 2000 to 2002, and served as the

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the Japan national baseball team during the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puerto ...

Early life

Oshima was born in Ōita Prefecture on October 16, 1950. He attended Nakatsu Kogyo High School. He was drafted by the Chunichi Dragons in the third round of the 1968 draft.

Professional career

Playing

Oshima made his NPB debut with the Dragons in 1971. He won two Central League pennants with the team. His best year came in 1979, when he recorded a career-high batting average of .317, and had the most

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in the league with 159. He also hit 36 home runs that year, the most in his career, but finished behind Masayuki Kakefu (who hit 48) as the league leader in home runs. Four seasons later, Oshima led the league in home runs with 36. He joined the Nippon Ham Fighters in 1988, finishing his NPB career with the team in 1994. He played 2,638 games over his 24-year career, amassing 2,204 hits, 382 home runs, and 1,234 runs batted in.

Coaching

Oshima became manager of the Fighters in 2000. He recorded his only winning season that same year, with the team finishing 69–65. Overall, he had a 181–225 record in his three seasons with the team. He later became the

of the Japan national baseball team for the

, the first edition of the tournament which the Japanese team won.

Later life

Oshima was inducted into the Meikyukai. He disclosed in February 2017 that he had

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

. He nonetheless continued working as a baseball commentator and also blogged about his fight against the disease. Oshima died on June 30, 2021, at the age of 70.

References

External links

, an
NPB
(in Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Oshima, Yasunori 1950 births 2021 deaths People from Nakatsu, Ōita Baseball people from Ōita Prefecture Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Nippon Professional Baseball infielders Japanese baseball players Chunichi Dragons players Nippon Ham Fighters players Managers of baseball teams in Japan Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters managers Deaths from colorectal cancer