Yoshiyuki Iwamoto
| Yoshiyuki Iwamoto | ||
|---|---|---|
Runs batted in | 487 | |
| Teams | ||
As player:
As manager:
| ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
| ||
| Member of the Japanese | ||
 Baseball Hall of Fame | ||
| Induction | 1981 | |
Yoshiyuki Iwamoto (岩本 義行, Iwamoto Yoshiyuki, March 11, 1912 – September 26, 2008) was a Japanese baseball player and manager. He is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
Biography
Iwamuto was born in
National High School Baseball Championship in 1931, but his team was defeated by a team of Masao Yoshida (who was also later inducted to Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
).
He joined the
Nankai Baseball Club in 1938, but he was forced to take part in World War II, so his professional debut didn't occur until 1940. The quality of baseballs was low due to the war,[citation needed
] so it was difficult for hitters to hit home runs, but Iwamuto hit three home runs in one game on July 11, 1942, the Japanese record at that time. He retired once in 1942 and went to war again.
Iwamoto returned to baseball in 1949, joining the
Mainichi Orions, 4 games to 2. On August 1, 1951, he hit four home runs in one game, becoming the first professional hitter in Japan to achieve that feat.[1]
He retired again in 1953.
He signed with
playing manager
in 1956. On August 18, 1957, he hit his final home run, at the age of 45, which is the Japanese age record.
As manager of the
Toei Flyers
from 1956 to 1960, Iwamoto compiled a record of 290–376, with 17 ties, for a winning percentage of .435.
Iwamoto was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
References
- ^ "Furuta rips four home runs". The Japan Times. 2003-06-29. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Yoshiyuki Iwamoto (Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame)
.jpg){kind=small}  | This biographical article relating to a Japanese baseball figure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |