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Yamamoto, Horiuchi inducted into Hall of Fame
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TOKYO, Jan. 11 (18:25) Kyodo
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Former Hiroshima Carp slugger Koji Yamamoto and Tsuneo Horiuchi,
a key starting pitcher during the Yomiuri Giants' record Japan Series
title streak, have been inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of
Fame along with legendary amateur player Seiichi Shima, the selection
panel announced Friday.
Yamamoto, 61, helped the Carp win its first-ever Central League
championship in 1975 with a league-high .319 average and led them to
back-to-back Japan Series titles from 1979 as their cleanup hitter.
In his 18-year playing career that began in 1969, all with the
Carp, Yamamoto hit 2,339 hits and 536 homers while driving in 1,475
runs and leading the league in batting average once, home run four
times and RBI three times. The Hiroshima native later served as Carp
manger in 1989-1993 and in 2001-2005.
Horiuchi, 59, joined Yomiuri from a Yamanashi Prefecture high
school in 1966 as a first-round draft pick and had an impressive
rookie season with a 16-2 record and a 1.39 earned run average -- a
performance that earned him the Sawamura Award of that year.
Horiuchi went on to post double-digit wins for 13 straight
seasons, including a career-high 26 wins in 1972, as he helped
Yomiuri to nine consecutive Japan Series crowns. He compiled a career
record of 203-139 with six saves and a 3.27 ERA.
Shima pitched no-hitters in the semifinals and final of the 1939
national high school championships for the Kaiso team from Wakayama
Prefecture. He was killed in action during World War II at age 24.
The selection of the three players brought the total number of
Hall of Fame inductees to 164. |
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