Tsuneo Horiuchi

Tsuneo Horiuchi
堀内 恒夫
Pitcher
Born: (1948-01-16) January 16, 1948
Kōfu, Yamanashi
Batted: Right Threw: Right
NPB debut
April 14, 1966, for the Yomiuri Giants
Last appearance
October 22, 1983, for the Yomiuri Giants
NPB statistics
Win–Loss 203–139
Earned run average 3.27
Strikeouts 1,865
Teams

As player

As manager

  • Yomiuri Giants (20042005)
Career highlights and awards
Member of the Japanese
Baseball Hall of Fame
Inducted 2008

Tsuneo Horiuchi (堀内 恒夫 Horiuchi Tsuneo, born January 16, 1948, in Kōfu, Yamanashi) is a former professional baseball player in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, and a politician. A right-handed pitcher, in 2008 he was voted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.[1]

Baseball career

Horiuchi played for the Yomiuri Giants his whole career, from 1966–1983; he was an integral part of the team's ten Japan Series championships during that period (including nine in a row).

His first season he went 16-2 with a league-leading 1.39 earned run average, winning both the Eiji Sawamura Award and the Central League Rookie of the Year award. He led the league in winning percentage and also in most bases on balls allowed.

He led the league in winning percentage again in 1967, going 12-2 to post an amazing two-year stretch of 28-4. That year he also threw a no-hitter, against the Hiroshima Carp. The next three seasons were all successful. but he again led the league in walks all three years. (Horiuchi also gave up 31 home runs in 1968 to lead the league.)

1972 was Horiuchi's finest season, as he went 26-9 with a 2.91 ERA and 26 complete games, again winning the Eiji Sawamura Award (this despite the fact he led the league in hits and home runs allowed). That year he also won the Central League MVP.

In 1974 Horiuchi led the Central League in complete games with 21.

Horiuchi finished his career with 203 wins, earning him a spot in Meikyukai.

He managed the Yomiuri Giants in 2004–2005 (the team went 133-144 under his leadership). He has also acted as a TV analyst for Giants broadcasts.

Politics

Horiuchi stood as a candidate of the House of Councillors election, 2010 for the LDP[2] but lost. Receiving 101,840 preference votes nationwide, he ranked 13th on the LDP list[3] – the party received only twelve proportional seats – and was thus the top replacement candidate for a possible kuriage-tōsen, i.e. the first candidate to be elected without an additional vote if an LDP proportional seat in the 2010 class of Councillors fell vacant. As a result, he became a member of the House of Councillors in the proportional representation segment of the class of 2010 in August 2013 as the replacement for Hirohiko Nakamura, who died on July 31, 2013.

Statistics

YearNo.GCGSONoBBWLSW%BFIPHitsHRBBHBPKsWPBalksRERERA
196621331471162.889714181.012556941175034281.39
196718231320122.857609149.01267591826041362.17
19684012301710.630845206.21533110541424081763.30
19694112401413.5191004236.22112110761606194823.11
19704218101810.6431130282.22022210372282082652.07
1971401430148.636924226.0183188261557083783.11
1972482641269.7431282312.029234953203301101012.91
19733915211217.414953221.023828706113111171114.52
197446213119111.6331106276.22173180712720101822.66
19753882110180.357893213.22122875611841100903.79
19763411201460.700763177.117323714822084783.97
1977344111093.526657151.116320535863081774.59
1978357311290.571829201.0190225931131086793.54
197924100470.36440086.111116352591068646.70
198019200351.37531975.07812221580043364.32
19819000130.2509222.027310111016114.50
19824000000.000297.08000200533.86
1983110001011.0007919.216291900994.12
Career 5661783772031396.59412628304527253231095661865483123511063.27

References

  1. Whiting, Robert, "Kawakami's philosophy as manager never wavered", Japan Times, 28 November 2013, p. 16, retrieved 28 November 2013
  2. Parties pin poll hopes on sports star power
  3. Yomiuri Shimbun, Councillors election special 2010, proportional results: Liberal Democratic Party
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Tatsunori Hara
Yomiuri Giants manager
20042005
Succeeded by
Tatsunori Hara
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