Hisashi Yamada

Hisashi Yamada (山田 久志, Yamada Hisashi, born July 29, 1948 in Noshiro, Akita Prefecture, Japan) is a retired Japanese professional baseball submarine pitcher. He played with the Hankyu Braves in Nippon Professional Baseball from 1969 to 1988.

Hisashi Yamada 山田 久志
Hisashi Yamada at Bs SQUARE Open, Kyosera Dome, Osaka, March 7, 2014
Pitcher / Manager
Born: (1948-07-29) July 29, 1948 Noshiro, Akita Prefecture, Japan
Batted: Right Threw: Right
NPB debut
1969, for the Hankyu Braves
Last appearance
1988, for the Hankyu Braves
NPB statistics
ERA	3.18
Win-Loss-Tie	284-166-38
Strikeouts	2058
Teams
As player Hankyu Braves (1969 – 1988) As coach Orix BlueWave (1994 – 1996) Chunichi Dragons (1999 – 2001) As manager Chunichi Dragons (1999 – 2003)
Career highlights and awards
3× Pacific League MVP (1976, 1977, 1978) Japan Series MVP (1977) 4× 20-game-winner
Member of the Japanese
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	2006

Yamada won the Pacific League MVP for three years in a row (1976 to 1978), sharing a record with Ichiro Suzuki (1994–1996) for the most consecutive awards won. In addition, Yamade won the Japan Series MVP in 1977. He won 20 or more games four times in his career, including notching 26 victories in 1976. Yamada twice won the Pacific League earned run average championship, with marks of 2.37 in 1971 and 2.28 in 1977.

As manager of the Chunichi Dragons in 1999, he led the team to the Central League pennant.

He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.[1]

In 2009, Yamada served as a coach for the Japanese team in the World Baseball Classic.