From the Field: Derek Tatsuno, p, University of Hawaii
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Well gosh, getting this autograph made my night. You know who Paul Skenese is, right? Pittsburg Pirates phenom pitcher who won the NL Rookie of the Year last season. In 2023, Skense set the LSU and SEC record for strikeouts in a single season, with 209 over 122.2 innings. Amazing, sure. But not the all-time single-season strikeout record. That belongs to the guy who signed those cards: University of Hawaii’s Derek Tatsuno.
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Derek Tatsuno struck out 243 over 174.1 innings in 1979 for the Univerity of Hawaii. During his record-breaking season, Tatsuno was also the first college pitcher to win 20 games. It’s a record that has never been matched once since, in 1986, by Florida State’s Mike Loynd
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Tatsuno was not a single-season flash in the pan. He was dominant during each of his three seasons with the Rainbow Warriors and ended his college career with a 40-6 record, 2.04 ERA, and 541 K’s. His 541 K’s was the NCAA career record until Auburn’s John Powell surpassed him in 1994 with 602 K’s. He is easily one of the most dominant pitchers in college history.
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Tatsuno was named to the College Baseball All-Century team by Baseball America in 1998, and in 2007 he was selected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame.