Hanshin Tigers Legend Yoshio Yoshida Dies at 91

Jiji Press

12:16 JST, February 5, 2025

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—Yoshio Yoshida, former player and then manager of the Hanshin Tigers professional baseball team in western Japan, died of a stroke early Monday, the team announced Tuesday. He was 91 years old.

Yoshida, a native of the western city of Kyoto, dropped out of Ritsumeikan University in 1953 to join what is now the Hanshin Tigers in the Central League. From his first year, he made a name for himself as an all-around shortstop.

He wowed fans with his elegant fielding, and also helped his team with tenacious hitting, swift running and masterful bunting.

During his 17-year active career, Yoshida appeared in 2,007 games and recorded a .267 batting average and 1,864 hits. He twice led the Central League in stolen bases.

His uniform number, 23, has been retired by the Tigers.

Yoshida also managed the Tigers three times for a total of eight years.

In 1985, he led the team, which at the time featured star sluggers Randy Bass, Masayuki Kakefu and Akinobu Okada, to its first league title in 21 years.. The team went on to beat the then Seibu Lions to win the Japan Series for the first time since the introduction of a two-league system.

That year, he won the Matsutaro Shoriki Award for his great contribution to Japanese professional baseball.

As a manager, Yoshida racked up 484 wins, 511 losses and 56 draws.

He helped promote baseball at home and abroad, traveling to France in 1989 to serve as manager of the French national team. He was inducted into the Japanese baseball hall of fame in 1992.