was a Japanese baseball player of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Japan's Central League.

He was one of the most famous Japanese right-handed pitchers. He was known as the because from his pitching style with the fastball. His nickname was "Tsune-Gon"(ツネゴン).

He was born in Shūnan, Yamaguchi. He retired in 1991, and died of brain tumor in 1993, when he was 32 years old.

His memorial plate, found at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, is inscribed with the words "We will never forget about his fastball, smile, courage and bravery".

He led his team in two Japan Series and won one title (1984).

Career 1st pitch: April 10, 1982. 1st win: April 29, 1982. Rookie of the Year Award winner: 1982 Comeback Player of the Year Award winner: 1986 Best Pitcher of Japan Series Award winner: 1986 Relief Man of the Year Award winner: 1989 Japan All-star game: 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 49 W, 90 S, 19 CG, 2 Shutout and 542 K.

Statistics YearTeamNo.GPWLSIPERKERATitles1982 Hiroshima 15 31 11 6 0 166.2 72 114 3.88 Rookie of the Year1983 Hiroshima 15 19 9 3 0 132.2 45 82 3.07 1984 Hiroshima 15 14 3 4 1 54.1 28 30 4.64 Japan Series Champion1985 Hiroshima 14 22 2 3 1 42.0 31 36 6.64 1986 Hiroshima 14 49 4 6 22 69.1 16 81 2.08 Comeback Player of the Year, League Champion1987 Hiroshima 14 47 3 4 18 65.2 12 160 1.64 1988 Hiroshima 14 47 5 9 20 72.1 31 56 3.86 1989 Hiroshima 14 51 12 5 28 83.0 15 75 1.63 Relief Man of the Year1990 Hiroshima 14 4 0 0 0 6.2 2 7 2.70 1991 Hiroshima 14 2 0 1 0 1.0 3 1 27.00 hospitalized before League ChampionTOTALS - 286 49 41 90 693.0 255 542 3.31 -

Honours The minor planet 79254 Tsuda was named in his memory on June 1, 2007.

Media

Books

Just One More Pitch - The Fastball Life of Red-Hot Reliever Tsuda Tsunemi () - NHK Books (1994) The Last Strike (two years and three months with Tsuda Tsunemi) () - Keibunsha (1995)

Documentary and Drama

Just One More Pitch: The Fastball Life of Red-Hot Reliever Tsuda Tsunemi - NHK (1994) The Last Strike - Fuji Television (2000)

References

External links NHK archives: NHK Special: Just One More Pitch: The Fastball Life of Red-Hot Reliever Tsuda Tsunemi (Japanese) Moving Tsuda memorial plate to the new stadium (Japanese) (Japanese)