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Junichi Fukura

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Junichi Fukura
Infielder / Manager
Born: (1960-06-28) 28 June 1960 (age 65)
Kitaura, Miyazaki, Japan
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
debut
23 April, 1985, for the Hankyu Braves
Last appearance
10 October, 1997, for the Orix BlueWave
Career statistics
Batting average.279
Home runs50
Hits1116
Teams
As player

As manager

As coach

Junichi Fukura (福良 淳一, Fukura Junichi; born 28 June 1960)[citation needed] was a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball player from Kitaura Town, Higashiusuki District, Miyazaki Prefecture (now Nobeoka City). He was a line-drive hitter.[1]

Junichi Fukura currently serves as the general manager and head of team organization for the Orix Buffaloes.[2][3] Prior to assuming his current position, he served as the team's 27th manager.

Biography

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Amateur era

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He joined the baseball club in junior high school and began playing baseball seriously.[4]

As a sophomore at Nobeoka Technical High School, he advanced to the quarterfinals of the 1977 Autumn Kyushu Tournament, but lost to Yoshihisa Shirotake of Sasebo Technical High School.[4]  He did not make it to Koshien during his time at the school.

After graduating from high school, he joined the Japanese National Railways and played for six years in the Oita Railway Administration Office (now the Oita Branch of Kyushu Railway Company, now JR Kyushu) in the amateur baseball league. At that time, he played as a second baseman and was assigned as the first or third batter.[4]

Awards

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Records

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First record
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  • First appearance: April 23, 1985, 4th game against the Nippon Ham Fighters (Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium), played as third baseman in the top of the 9th inning, replacing Hiromi Matsunaga.
  • First hit: May 13, 1985, 9th game against the Nankai Hawks (Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium), off Kazuhiro Yamauchi in the bottom of the 5th inning
  • First start: May 15, 1985, 6th game against the Kintetsu Buffaloes (Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium), starting as ninth batter and second baseman
  • First RBI: May 16, 1985, 7th game against the Kintetsu Buffaloes (Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium), off Suzuki Keiji in the bottom of the 2nd inning
  • First stolen base: Same as above, in the bottom of the second inning (pitcher: Keiji Suzuki, catcher: Shuzo Arita)
  • First home run: April 17, 1986, 4th game against the Nankai Hawks (Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium), 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning off Minoru Yano
Milestones
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  • 1,000th game played: August 20, 1994, 17th game against the Seibu Lions (Green Stadium, Kobe), started as the second batter and second baseman. *321st player in history to do so
  • 1,000 hits: July 2, 1995, 14th game against the Seibu Lions (Seibu Lions Stadium), first run in the top of the first inning with a timely hit to right field off Hiroshi Shintani. *180th player in history to reach 1,000 hits
  • 200 sacrifice hits: May 3, 1996, 6th game against the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (Fukuoka Dome), off Masao Fujii in the top of the 9th inning. *17th player in history to achieve 200 sacrifice hits
Other records
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  • Consecutive errorless defensive opportunities for second baseman: 804, April 28, 1993–July 31, 1994 *Japan record
  • All-Star Game appearances: 1 (1988)

Jersey number

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  • 51 (1985-1987)
  • 1 (1988-1997)
  • 85 (1998-2000)
  • 78 (2005-2018)

Overall managerial record

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year Team Ranking game victory defeat Draw Win Rate Game Difference

​​

Home Run batting average Defense

rate

age

2015 Oryx 5th place 89 42 46 1 .477 30.0 94 .249 3.59 55 years old
2016 6th place 143 57 83 3 .407 30.0 84 .253 4.18 56 years old
2017 4th place 143 63 79 1 .444 30.5 127 .251 3.81 57 years old
2018 4th place 143 65 73 5 .471 21.5 108 .244 3.69 58 years old
Total: 4 years 518 227 281 10 .447 0 times in A class, 4 times in B class

References

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  1. ^ Stewart, Mark (1 January 2002). Ichiro Suzuki: Best in the West. Lerner Publications. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-7613-2616-8.
  2. ^ "福良淳一育成統括ゼネラルマネージャー就任のお知らせ". オリックス・バファローズ (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  3. ^ "オリックスGMに福良淳一前監督「いいチーム作る」 - プロ野球 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "週刊ベースボール", Wikipedia (in Japanese), 3 October 2024, retrieved 20 July 2025
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