Hiroaki Hirota

Hiroaki Hirota (廣田 浩章)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 167 lb.

• High School Hagi Commercial & Technical High School

• Born February 26, 1964 in Hagi, Yamaguchi Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hiroaki Hirota played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 12 years.

Hirota was drafted by the Yomiuri Giants in the 2nd round of the 1985 NPB draft, and he spent his first season in the NPB Farm Leagues. He was 1-2 with a 1.76 ERA in 30 relief outings in 1987, and he allowed a 3-run home run to Kazuhiro Kiyohara in the 1987 Nippon Series Game 2. The Giants lost to the Seibu Lions in 6 games. Hirota's ERA rose to 3.55 in 33 games in 1988, and he was named Yomiuri's new closer in 1989 as Yoshitaka Katori struggled. Hirota notched 11 saves with a 8-1 record and a 2.36 ERA in 36 games, and he was 4th in saves in Central League (between Hiroaki Nakayama and Naoyuki Naito).

The Hagi native collected 2 saves with a 1.72 ERA in 15 games in 1990, and he pitched 1 1/3 shutout inning in the 1990 Nippon Series Game 2 and 1 2/3 shutout inning in Game 4. The Giants were still swept by the Lions. Hirota's ERA rose to 5.12 in 12 games in 1991, and he went 3-2 with 3 saves and a 3.01 ERA in 30 games in 1992. However, he underwent Tommy John surgery in 1993, and the Giants released him. He then signed with the Daiei Hawks, but he fractured his right knee and missed the entire 1994 season. Hirota recorded a 4.30 ERA in 16 games in 1995, but he only pitched one inning in 1996 and he was released again.

The Yakult Swallows picked him up, and Hirota came back in 1997. He got 3 saves with a 2.71 ERA in 59 games, and he tied Tatsuhiro Yuminaga for 6th in appearances. He completed 2 shutout innings combined in 3 games in the 1997 Nippon Series, and the Swallows beat the Seibu Lions in 5 games. Hirota then collected 7 holds with a 2.56 ERA in 52 games in 1998, and he was 6th in appearances (between Yukiya Yokoyama and Kazuhiro Sasaki) and 6th in saves (between Hiromi Makihara and Shinji Sasaoka). He was 3-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 37 games in 1999, and the Swallows released him. The Kintetsu Buffaloes picked him up, but Hirota's ERA was 5.75 in 20 games in 2000 and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Hirota was 29-19 with 30 saves and a 3.00 ERA, struck out 289 and pitched 468 2/3 innings in 12 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan