So Taguchi

Infobox MLB player
name = So Taguchi

---

width = 300
caption = Taguchi
team = Philadelphia Phillies
number = 99
position = Outfield
birthdate = birth date and age|1969|7|2
birthplace = Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan
bats = Right
throws = Right
debutdate = June 10
debutyear = 2002
debutteam = St. Louis Cardinals
statyear = September 23, 2008
stat1label = Batting average
stat1value = .278
stat2label = Home runs
stat2value = 19
stat3label = Runs batted in
stat3value = 160
teams =
*Orix BlueWave (by|1992-by|2001) (NPB)
*St. Louis Cardinals (by|2002-by|2007)
*Philadelphia Phillies (by|2008-present)
awards =
* World Series Champion (2006)

nihongo|So Taguchi (nicknamed The So Man or The Gooch) |田口 壮|Taguchi Sō|extra=born July 2, 1969 is a Major League Baseball outfielder who currently plays for the Philadelphia Phillies.

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 later in his career.

MLB career

He was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent in by|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 RBI. He eventually earned a 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 wear 99.

Taguchi got another brief call-up in mlby|2003, then got more playing time with the Cardinals in mlby|2004, 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 mlby|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 mlby|2006, Taguchi's playing time declined somewhat, his at-bat total falling to 316 from 396 the year before. However, Taguchi 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. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN200610130.shtml October 13, 2006 National League Championship Series (NLCS) Game 2 at Shea Stadium Play by Play and Box Score - Baseball-Reference.com ] ] 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 mlby|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 mlby|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. [Strauss, Joe. [http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/F68C02C1694D92A0862573A90017568B?OpenDocument "LaRussa: Now, it's personal."] St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 2007-12-06. Retrieved on 2007-12-07.] [ [http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071205&content_id=2319238&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl The Official Site of The St. Louis Cardinals: News: St. Louis Cardinals News ] ]

On December 23, 2007, Taguchi was signed to a one-year deal by the Philadelphia Phillies with an option for by|2009. [ [http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071223&content_id=2336269&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi The Official Site of The Philadelphia Phillies: News: Philadelphia Phillies News ] ]

Personal life

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." [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-2nlcs101406&prov=yhoo&type=lgns Cards' win is So special - MLB - Yahoo! Sports ] ] They have one son, Kan, born December 24, 2003. [ [http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=408039 The Official Site of The Philadelphia Phillies: Team: Player Information : Biography and Career Highlights ] ]

References

External links

* (Baseball Cube includes Japan stats)
*
* [http://japaneseballplayers.com/en/player.php?id=taguchi Japanese league stats and info of So Taguchi]
* [http://www.taguchiso.com/ TaguchiSo.com] - official site (in Japanese)
* [http://blog.goo.ne.jp/janeyamano/m/200612 So Taguchi interview] for Japanese television program (scroll down; in Japanese and English)
* [http://jasgp.org/content/view/607/179/ Japanese Star for the Phillies, Arigatou Gozaimasu!] Article, Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia
* [http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/articles/17321/cover-story "So Taguchi Has Lost His Wa"] , "Philadephia Weekly" profile

Persondata
NAME=Taguchi, So
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Baseball player
DATE OF BIRTH=July 2, 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=