Japanese HOF Project

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Tsutomu Wakamatsu was an outfielder with the Yakult Swallows from 1971 to 1989. He is a member of both the hall of fame and the Meikyukai. Accordingly, I've written about him before. Here’s my first post. I don’t have much to add, so this one will be fairly short. Wakamatsu was nicknamed “Mr. Swallows” and also “small hitter” (he’s 5’6” and 162). When he was in school he was an avid skier, and struggled with the decision about whether to focus on baseball or skiing. I think it’s safe to say that he made the right choice. He was a third round draft pick, and his first season he played for legendary manager Osamu Mihara, in the latter’s final managerial stop.

Wakamatsu’s game revolved around getting on base; he had a healthy on base percentage with a high batting average and medium power. His .319 career batting average is one of the better marks in Japanese history. In fact, it may be the best, depending on the restrictions that you put on qualified batters. It is the highest mark for batters with more than 5000 at bats, but if you drop that floor down to 4900 Leron Lee takes over the lead with a .320 mark. Wakamatsu’s on base percentage really was driven by his batting average. He didn’t walk much, and he struck out even less. His career high in walks was 49 in 1978, and in strike outs it was 43 in 1973. In some ways he’s sort of the opposite of the contemporary American player. Far from being a “three true outcome” batter, he nearly always put the ball into play.

After his playing career ended Wakamatsu spent a few years as a baseball commentator, before becoming a hitting coach, and eventually the manager of the Swallows. He held the top job with Yakult from 1999 to 2005.

Meikyukai: Yes – Hall of Fame: Yes

The card is from the 1976 Calbee set.