Jiro Hirabayashi

Jiro Hirabayashi (平林 二郎)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 156 lb.

• High School Chukyo University Senior High School

• Born January 5, 1949 in Nagoya, Aichi Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Jiro Hirabayashi was drafted by the Hankyu Braves in the first round of the second 1966 NPB draft after they lost the lottery for the rights to Akikazu Nishimoto. He only got 20 at-bats combined in his first 5 seasons, and he hit .211/.240/.282 in 85 games in 1973 though he only totaled 79 plate appearances, backing up Taira Sumitomo at 2B, Kiyoshi Morimoto at 3B and Yutaka Ohashi at SS. Hirabayashi then recorded a .222/.295/.241 in 108 games in 1974 (he had 63 plate appearances only, often being a defensive sub for Sumitomo), but he never had more than 15 at-bats in a season again before he announced his retirement in 1981. He played 9 games combined in the Nippon Series, but he never had a single plate appearance. Hirabayashi then became the coach of Nagoya University of Economics in 2010.

Sources

• Wiki Japan