Tsunemi Tsuda

Tsunemi Tsuda
Pitcher
Born: August 1, 1960 Shūnan, Yamaguchi, Japan
Died: July 20, 1993 (aged 62) Fukuoka, Japan
Batted: Right Threw: Right
NPB debut
April 10, 1982, for the Hiroshima Carp
Last NPB appearance
April 14, 1991, for the Hiroshima Carp
NPB statistics
Earned run average	3.31
Wins	49
Saves	90
Complete games	19
Shutouts	2
Strikeouts	542
Teams
Hiroshima Toyo Carp (1982–1991)
Career highlights and awards
1982 Central League Rookie of the Year NPB Comeback Player of the Year Award (1986) NPB Relief Man of the Year Award (1989) 5× NPB All-Star (1983, 1986 - 1989)
Member of the Japanese
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	2012

Tsunemi Tsuda (津田 恒実, Tsuda Tsunemi, August 1, 1960 – July 20, 1993) was a Japanese baseball player of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Japan's Central League.

He was one of the most famous Japanese right-handed pitchers. He was known as the "Stopper of Flame" (炎のストッパー, Honou-no-Stopper) because from his pitching style with the fastball. His nickname was "Tsune-Gon"(ツネゴン).

He was born in Shūnan, Yamaguchi. He retired in 1991, and died of brain tumor in 1993, when he was 32 years old.

His memorial plate, found at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, is inscribed with the words "We will never forget about his fastball, smile, courage and bravery".

He led his team in two Japan Series and won one title (1984).

Career

• 1st pitch: April 10, 1982.
• 1st win: April 29, 1982.
• Rookie of the Year Award winner: 1982
• Comeback Player of the Year Award winner: 1986
• Best Pitcher of Japan Series Award winner: 1986
• Relief Man of the Year Award winner: 1989
• Japan All-star game: 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989
• 49 W, 90 S, 19 CG, 2 Shutout and 542 K.

Statistics

Year	Team	No.	GP	W	L	S	IP	ER	K	ERA	Titles
1982	Hiroshima	15	31	11	6	0	166.2	72	114	3.88	Rookie of the Year
1983	Hiroshima	15	19	9	3	0	132.2	45	82	3.07
1984	Hiroshima	15	14	3	4	1	54.1	28	30	4.64	Japan Series Champion
1985	Hiroshima	14	22	2	3	1	42.0	31	36	6.64
1986	Hiroshima	14	49	4	6	22	69.1	16	81	2.08	Comeback Player of the Year, League Champion
1987	Hiroshima	14	47	3	4	18	65.2	12	160	1.64
1988	Hiroshima	14	47	5	9	20	72.1	31	56	3.86
1989	Hiroshima	14	51	12	5	28	83.0	15	75	1.63	Relief Man of the Year
1990	Hiroshima	14	4	0	0	0	6.2	2	7	2.70
1991	Hiroshima	14	2	0	1	0	1.0	3	1	27.00	hospitalized before League Champion
TOTALS		-	286	49	41	90	693.0	255	542	3.31	-

Honours

• The minor planet 79254 Tsuda was named in his memory on June 1, 2007.

Media

Books

• Just One More Pitch - The Fastball Life of Red-Hot Reliever Tsuda Tsunemi (ISBN 4-87728-743-4) - NHK Books (1994)
• The Last Strike (two years and three months with Tsuda Tsunemi) (ISBN 4-87728-607-1) - Keibunsha (1995)

Documentary and Drama

• Just One More Pitch: The Fastball Life of Red-Hot Reliever Tsuda Tsunemi - NHK (1994)
• The Last Strike - Fuji Television (2000)

External links

• NHK archives: NHK Special: Just One More Pitch: The Fastball Life of Red-Hot Reliever Tsuda Tsunemi (Japanese)
• Moving Tsuda memorial plate to the new stadium (Japanese)
• History of Tsuda on YouTube (Japanese)