is a retired Japanese professional baseball player in Nippon Professional Baseball. An aggressive lead-off man and superior defensive centerfielder, he holds the Japanese career records in triples and stolen bases. He also hit more lead-off home runs than anyone in Japanese history, with 43. In 2002 ( Heisei 14), Fukumoto was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

Playing career

After a brief career at the company team of Matsushita, he was drafted seventh overall by the Hankyu Braves (currently the

Orix Buffaloes 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 1968. In his second season, he stole 75 bases, setting the Japanese single-season record. In 1972 ( Shōwa 47), he stole 106 bases, setting the all-world single-season modern-era record, which stood until it was broken by Rickey Henderson. He also led the Braves to the Japanese championship. Fukumoto was named

Most Valuable Player 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 ...

(MVP) and became the first Japanese MVP who had also led the league in steals. In 1983, he stole his 939th career base, passing Lou Brock and setting the all-world career steals mark (later passed by Rickey Henderson in 1993). That year he also collected his 2000th career hit. He was contacted for a

People's Honour Award is one of the commendations bestowed by the Prime Minister of Japan on people in recognition of their accomplishments in sport, entertainment, and other fields. The award, not restricted to Japanese nationals, was created in 1977 by the then-Prime ...

, but declined.

Retirement

After the 1988 season, the Braves were slated to become the Orix BlueWave. At the last game of the year, manager

Toshiharu Ueda was a professional Japanese baseball player, coach, and manager. He was elected to 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 ...

delivered a farewell address at the post-game ceremony. Ueda made the mistake of saying, "We bid farewell to Hisashi Yamada, Yamada and Fukumoto (who will leave the team) ..." instead of "We bid farewell to Yamada but will have Fukumoto (for the new team) ...". Everyone was caught by surprise, including Fukumoto himself, since he had intended to play at least another year. Fukumoto shrugged to reporters and said, "Ueda said so, I'm retiring", and ended his career. He retired with 2,543 hits, 208 home runs, 449 doubles (2nd all-time), 115 triples, 884 runs batted in, 1,065 stolen bases, and a .291 batting average, in 2401 games. Fukumoto felt no ill will towards Ueda and went on to coach for Orix in 1989 and 1990. From 1998 to 1999, he coached for the Hanshin Tigers. He works as a baseball commentator for Asahi Broadcasting Corporation and an independent TV station, Sun Television, SUN-TV.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fukumoto, Yutaka 1947 births Living people Baseball people from Osaka Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Hankyu Braves players Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Nippon Professional Baseball coaches Japanese baseball coaches Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees