Kōichi Tabuchi
| Kōichi Tabuchi | |
|---|---|
Tabuchi in 2019 | |
| Head and hitting coach (former Catcher, First baseman, Designated Hitter / Manager) | |
| Born: September 24, 1946 Toshima, Tokyo, Japan | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| NPB debut | |
| April 12, 1969, for the Hanshin Tigers | |
| Last appearance | |
| September 29, 1984, for the Seibu Lions | |
| NBP statistics | |
| Hits | 1532 |
| Home runs | 474 |
| Base on balls | 823 |
| Runs batted in | 1135 |
| Batting average | .260 |
| Slugging percentage | .535 |
| Teams | |
| As player
As manager As coach
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Regular season
Records
| |
| Member of the Japanese | |
| Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2020 |
Kōichi Tabuchi (田淵 幸一, Tabuchi Kōichi, born September 24, 1946) is a Japanese former professional baseball player, manager, and commentator. During his career, Tabuchi played for the Hanshin Tigers and the Seibu Lions. Tabuchi played catcher for the Hanshin Tigers from 1969 and 1978, where his combination with pitcher Yutaka Enatsu was called the "Golden Battery".
Always a long-range hitter, Tabuchi was nicknamed home run artist because of the high-in-the-sky, long trajectory of his home runs. Although his career total of 474 home runs is far below Sadaharu Oh's 868, his frequency nearly matched Oh's. Tabuchi hit a home run once every 12.41 at-bats, while Oh did once every 10.66. In this statistic he is second only to Oh among sluggers who have logged 300 or more home runs.
Known as Mr. Tiger (along with Fumio Fujimura, Minoru Murayama, and Masayuki Kakefu), Tabuchi has served as the chairman of Hanshin Tigers Old Boys' Committee since November 2009.