Kazuto Tsuruoka Explained

Kazuto Tsuruoka
鶴岡 一人
Position:Infielder / Manager
Bats:Right
Throws:Right
Birth Date:July 27, 1916
Birth Place:Kure, Hiroshima, Japan
Death Place:Japan
Debutleague:JBL
Debutdate:March 28
Debutyear:1939
Debutteam:Nankai Club
Finalleague:NPB
Finaldate:October 12
Finalyear:1952
Finalteam:Nankai Hawks
Statleague:JBL/NPB
Stat1label:Batting average
Stat1value:.295
Stat2label:Home runs
Stat2value:61
Stat3label:Hits
Stat3value:790
Stat4label:RBIs
Stat4value:467
Stat5label:Stolen bases
Stat5value:143
Teams:As player

As manager

  • Great Ring/Nankai Hawks (1949 - 1968)
Highlights:
Hoflink:Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
Hoftype:Japanese
Hofdate:1965
Hofmethod:Selection Committee for the Players

, also known as Kazuto Yamamoto, was a Japanese former professional baseball infielder and manager in the Japan Baseball League (JBL) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Tsuruoka played for the same franchise in 1939, and from 1946 to 1952, which during his career changed names from the Nankai Club to Kinki Great Ring, and ultimately to the Nankai Hawks. (Tsuruoka did not play professional baseball from 1940 to 1945.) In 1939 he won the JBL home run title with 10. Returning to the JBL after World War II, in 1946 he won the JBL Most Valuable Player Award, repeating the feat in 1948. His team won the JBL championship both those years.

In 1949, he was named player-manager of the Hawks. His playing career ended after the 1952 season, but he stayed on as the team's manager through the 1968 season, guiding the team to Japan Series championships in 1959 and 1964. His managerial record overall was 1773–1140, for a winning percentage of .609.

Tsuruoka was elected by the Selection Committee for the Players to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hall of Famers List The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. english.baseball-museum.or.jp. en. 2020-04-14.