Wikipedia

Manabu Kitabeppu

Manabu Kitabeppu (北別府 学, Kitabeppu Manabu, July 12, 1957 – June 16, 2023) was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher, the first-round draft pick of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 1975, and one of the most famous Japanese right-handed pitchers. He was known as the "Precision Machine" (精密機械, Seimitsu-Kikai) because of his perfect control pitching, and his nickname was Pei-San (ペイさん).

Manabu Kitabeppu
北別府 学
Pitcher
Born: (1957-07-12)July 12, 1957
Soo, Kagoshima, Japan
Died: June 16, 2023(2023-06-16) (aged 65)
Hiroshima, Japan
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
NPB debut
September 16, 1976, for the Hiroshima Carp
Last NPB appearance
August 21, 1994, for the Hiroshima Carp
NPB statistics
Win–loss213-141
Shutouts28
Highest win rate81.8% (18-4) (1986)
Win rate average60.2%
Earned run average3.67
Strikeouts1757
Teams
As player

As pitching coach

  • Hiroshima Toyo Carp (2001–2004)
Career highlights and awards
Member of the Japanese
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction2012

Kitabeppu struggled his first few seasons, then went 17-11 with a 3.58 ERA to make his first All-Star team in 1979. It was the first of five consecutive All-Star picks for Kitabeppu, who helped the team to a Japan Series title in 1980.

In 1982 Kitabeppu went 20-8 with a 2.43 ERA, easily his best year up to that point in his pitching career. He led the Central League with 267.3 innings, won the most games on the mound, and was fourth in ERA. He won his first Eiji Sawamura Award that season and also was named to the Best Nine.

His streak of All-Star selections ended in 1984, though he continued to pitch well in '84 and '85. In 1986 Kitabeppu had his best season, going 18-4 with a 2.43 ERA. He led the circuit once again in victories, won his only ERA crown, led in complete games (17) and shutouts (4), won his only Gold Glove, and in addition to the Best Nine and Sawamura, won his only MVP award as the Carp returned to the Japan Series, but failed to win.

Kitabeppu again was an All-Star in '88 but posted losing records from '87 through '89, once with an ERA of 5.48. The former star allowed the most runs in 1988 (87) and the most homers (22). The next season, he again surrendered the most home runs, also 22. In 1989 he was in the minor leagues for the first time in his career.

Kitabeppu emerged resurgent from his trials and after a decent season in 1990, in 1991 he went 11-4 with a 3.38 ERA. He made his seventh All-Star team in 1992, with 14 wins in 22 decisions, and a 2.58 ERA. It was his lowest ERA and most victories since his MVP season of '86. The Carp made their third Japan Series of the Kitabeppu era, but lost to the Seibu Lions. Still just 34, Kitabeppu reached 200 career wins.

It was his last good season – he would pitch 24 more games, going 9-9, with ERAs over 5 each time, before retiring. His career line with Hiroshima was 213-141 with a 3.67 ERA.

Since Kitabeppu, only one pitcher in Nippon Pro Baseball (Kimiyasu Kudoh) has reached 200 victories. Kitabeppu ranks 17th all-time in wins, 20th in innings (3,113), 26th in strikeouts (1,757), 9th in hits allowed (3,225), and 4th in homers surrendered (380, the Central League record).

After retiring, Kitabeppu became an announcer and then the pitching coach for the Carp.

Shortly after midnight on June 16, 2023, he died in a hospital in the city of Hiroshima. He was 65. In 2020 he announced that he had been battling leukemia for a long time.[1]

Career

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  • 1st pitch, September 16, 1976
  • 1st win, October 12, 1976
  • MVP in the Japanese Central League, 1986
  • Eiji Sawamura Award winner, 1982 and 1986
  • Greatest Number of Wins, 1982 and 1986
  • Best Winning Average, 1980, 1981 and 1991
  • Best ERA, 1986
  • Best Nine of the year, 1982 and 1986
  • Gold Glove Award winner, 1986
  • Japan All-star game, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1988 and 1992
  • Hiroshima Prefectural Prize of Honour, 1994
  • 213 W, 5 S, 135 CG, 28 Shutouts and 1757 K.
  • Hiroshima Carp Pitching Coach from 2001 to 2004

statistics

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Year Team No. GP W L S IP K ERA Titles
1976 Hiroshima 20 9 2 1 0 29.1 18 4.03
1977 Hiroshima 20 33 5 7 0 131.2 90 5.32
1978 Hiroshima 20 39 10 7 0 177.0 98 4.58
1979 Hiroshima 20 36 17 11 0 215.2 155 3.58 League Champion, Japan Series Champion
1980 Hiroshima 20 30 12 5 0 177.2 82 4.04 Best Winning Average, League Champion, Japan Series Champion
1981 Hiroshima 20 32 16 10 0 226.1 123 3.31 Best Winning Average
1982 Hiroshima 20 36 20 8 0 267.1 184 2.43 Sawamura Award winner, Greatest Number of Wins, Best 9
1983 Hiroshima 20 33 12 13 0 215.2 106 3.96
1984 Hiroshima 20 32 13 8 2 203.2 99 3.31 League Champion, Japan Series Champion
1985 Hiroshima 20 35 16 6 2 199.0 85 3.57
1986 Hiroshima 20 30 18 4 0 230.0 123 2.43 MVP, Sawamura Award winner, Greatest Number of Wins, Best ERA, Best 9, Gold Glove Award, League Champion
1987 Hiroshima 20 29 10 14 0 181.1 119 4.37
1988 Hiroshima 20 27 11 12 0 209.2 112 3.13
1989 Hiroshima 20 22 9 10 0 110.0 69 5.48
1990 Hiroshima 20 17 8 4 0 98.1 58 4.39
1991 Hiroshima 20 25 11 4 0 141.1 73 3.38 Best Winning Average, League Champion
1992 Hiroshima 20 26 14 8 0 181.1 101 2.58
1993 Hiroshima 20 13 6 6 0 69.0 38 5.22
1994 Hiroshima 20 11 3 3 0 50.2 24 5.68
TOTALS – 515 213 141 5 3113.0 1757 3.67 -

References

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  1. ^ "Hiroshima no ēsu toshite katsuyaku, Sawamura-shō 2-do jushō no Kitabeppu Manabu-shi ga shikyo 65-sai 20 nen 1 gatsu ni seijin T saibō hakketsubyō kōhyō" 広島のエースとして活躍、沢村賞2度受賞の北別府学氏が死去65歳　20年1月に成人T細胞白血病公表 [Manabu Kitabeppu, the ace of Hiroshima and two-time winner of the Sawamura Award, passed away at the age of 65. Adult T-cell leukemia announced in January 2020]. Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). Sports Nippon Newspapers. 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
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