Ritsuo Yamashita

Ritsuo Yamashita (山下 律夫)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 165 lbs.

• School Kindai University
• High School Matsuyama Commercial High School

• Born October 20, 1944 in Minami Uwa-gun, Ehime Japan
• Died April 10, 2011

BR register page

Biographical Information

Ritsuo Yamashita pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 16 years.

Yamashita was drafted by the Taiyo Whales in the first round of the 1966 NPB draft, and he had a 3.68 ERA in his rookie year. He was 3-2 with a 3.33 ERA in 1968, then he improved to 15-11 with a 2.54 ERA in 1969. Yamashita was 6th in ERA in the Central League (between Hisatoshi Ito and Masaji Hiramatsu), 4th in wins (tied with Yutaka Enatsu) and 7th in strikeouts (between Hiramatsu and Shoichi Ono) in 1969. He was still a solid starter in 1970, having a 13-9 record with a 2.89 ERA. He was 6th in wins, tied with Hiroshi Kito, Yataro Oishi, Shizuo Shiraishi, Yoshiro Sotokoba and Tomoo Wako. Yamashita was 7-9 with a 2.40 ERA in 1971, then he slumped to 8-7 with a 3.70 ERA in 1972

The Ehime native recorded a 3.38 ERA with 13 wins in 42 appearances in 1973, then he was used as a swingman in 1974. Yamashita notched 5 saves and had a 9-14 record in 1974, and his ERA was 4.09 in 44 games. He tied Enatsu for 6th in losses, and he ranked 5th in saves (tied with Keishi Asano and Yoshitaka Kihara). Yamashita was 7-8 with a 4.30 ERA in 1975, and he struggled in 1976 as his ERA rose to 5.74 in 34 relief outings. The Whales then traded him with Yoshihiro Takagaki to the Crown Lighter Lions for Shitoshi Sekimoto.

After changing teams, Yamashita came back and he was 12-6 with a 3.46 ERA in 1977. He tied Michiro Sato for 7th in wins and tied Masaharu Mitsui for 9th in saves in the Pacific League. Yamashita then went 6-10 with a 3.95 ERA in 1978, and he tied Keishi Suzuki, Masumitsu Moriguchi and Naoki Takahashi for 8th in losses. His ERA rose to 4.78 in 31 games in 1979, and he had a 5.02 ERA in 22 relief outings in 1980. After recording a 3.55 ERA in 19 games in 1981, the Lions traded him to the Nankai Hawks with Yoshinori Yamamura for Masahiro Kuroda and Shinsaku Katahira. Yamashita only pitched 17 more games with a 6.39 ERA for the Hawks in 1982, then he announced his retirement.

Overall, Yamashita was 103-101 with a 3.64 ERA, struck out 941 and pitched 1,841 2/3 innings in 16 years in NPB. As of 2023, he was 89th in hits allowed, between Tokinari Nishina and Yukitsura Matsumoto.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio