So Taguchi

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So Taguchi

So Taguchi batting for the Cardinals
Philadelphia Phillies — No. 99
Outfielder
Born: July 2, 1969 (1969-07-02) (age 38)
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
June 10, 2002 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Selected MLB statistics (through 2007)
Batting Average	.283
Home Runs	19
Runs Batted In	154
Teams
Orix BlueWave (1992-2001) (NPB) St. Louis Cardinals (2002-2007) Philadelphia Phillies (2008-present)

So Taguchi (nicknamed The So Man) (田口 壮, Taguchi Sō^?, born July 2, 1969) is a Major League Baseball outfielder who currently plays for the Philadelphia Phillies.

[edit] Early career

Taguchi was born and raised in Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. He graduated from Kwansei Gakuin University in his hometown, with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. He was a teammate of Ichiro Suzuki when the two played for the Orix BlueWave in the Pacific League of NPB. Although he was drafted by the BlueWave as an infielder, he was moved to the outfield because he was diagnosed with yips, or throwing psychoneurosis, by a manager when he was a rookie.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] MLB career

Taguchi signing autographs before a game against the Houston Astros on May 30, 2006

He was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent in 2002 at the age of 33, a year in which he rose through the minor league system, playing for the New Haven Ravens and the Memphis Redbirds, compiling a .262 batting average, with 6 home runs and 51 runs batted in. He eventually earned his call-up on September 7, and recorded the first hit of his major league career in the second inning against the Chicago Cubs. Taguchi became the first (and to date only) Japanese-born player in Cardinal history. He originally requested to wear the number 6, but he couldn't because it was retired for Stan Musial, nor could he turn 6 upside down because 9 is retired for Enos Slaughter. He could not wear the number he had at the Olympics because 1 was retired for Ozzie Smith. He was also unable to double 6 as Rick Ankiel was on the roster that year. Finally he decided to become 99.

Taguchi got another brief call-up in 2003, then got more playing time with the 2004 Cardinals, appearing in 109 games. He was included on the '04 Cardinals postseason roster, and appeared in two games of the 2004 World Series, which the Cardinals lost to the Boston Red Sox in a four-game sweep. In 2005, injuries to outfielders Larry Walker and Reggie Sanders opened up manager Tony LaRussa's lineup card, and Taguchi became an everyday player. He responded with his best season, batting .288 in 396 at-bats with eight home runs and fifty-three RBI, and contributing with his stellar defense at all three outfield positions as the Cardinals won 100 games and had the best record in the National League.

In 2006 Taguchi's playing time declined somewhat, his at-bat total falling to 316 from 396 the year before. However, So would make the playoff roster for the Cardinals for the third year in a row, and have a heroic postseason moment: on October 13, 2006, he hit the go-ahead home run off Billy Wagner in the top of the 9th inning of Game 2 of the NLCS. The home run gave the Cardinals a 7-6 lead in a game they would win 9-6.^[1] Taguchi played in four of five games of the 2006 World Series for the Cardinals, hitting .182, and won a championship ring as the Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers four games to one. Taguchi agreed to a one year deal worth $925,000 with the St. Louis Cardinals for the 2007 season.

Taguchi returned to the Cardinals in 2007 and had another solid season, batting .290 as a part-time player with 307 at-bats. After the season ended, the team declined Taguchi's option for 2008, then decided to forgo arbitration and release Taguchi on December 5, 2007, after Taguchi's agent had requested his release earlier in the week.^[2][3]

On December 23, 2007, Taguchi was signed to a one-year deal by the Philadelphia Phillies with an option for 2009.^[4]

[edit] Personal life

So Taguchi learned English from his wife Emiko, a former television reporter who speaks it fluently. He also practiced by watching films such as Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. ^[5] They have one son, Kan, born 24 December 2003.^[6]

[edit] Career highlights

• National League Champion (2004, 2006 St. Louis Cardinals)
• World Series Champion (2006 St. Louis Cardinals)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube (Baseball Cube includes Japan stats)
• Japanesebaseball.com - Nippon Professional Baseball career statistics
• Japanese league stats and info of So Taguchi
• TaguchiSo.com - official site (in Japanese)
• So Taguchi interview for Japanese television program (scroll down; in Japanese and English)
• Japanese Star for the Phillies, Arigatou Gozaimasu! Article, Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia