Kohei Hasebe

Kohei Hasebe (長谷部 康平)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 8", Weight 154 lb.

• School Aichi Institute of Technology
• High School Tojaku High School

• Born May 21, 1985 in Seki, Gifu Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kohei Hasebe pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 8 years.

Hasebe pitched for Japan in the 2006 World University Championship and 2006 Asian Games. He did a very good job in the 2007 Baseball World Cup, helping Japan win Bronze - he saved wins over Panama and Australia and did not allow a run in 9 innings in the competition. He struck out 12 and walked none. Hasebe was the lone amateur chosen for Japan's team in the 2007 Asian Championship; they won Gold and a spot in the 2008 Olympics but Hasebe did not pitch in any game.

The southpaw was picked by the Rakuten Golden Eagles in the first round of the 2007 NPB draft. Kohei had an atrocious rookie year in 2008, going 1-4 with a 9.93 ERA. He allowed 56 hits (including 6 homers) and 22 walks in 35 1/3 innings while striking out 23 for the Golden Eagles. He then went 5-8 with a 5.19 ERA in 2009, and he led the Pacific League in wild pitched with 8. Hasebe went 3-5 with a 7.83 ERA in 2010, and he had a 2.25 ERA in 7 starts in 2011. He then suffered a knee injury, and he missed the entire 2012 season.

Hasebe returned in 2013 with a solid 1.83 ERA in 24 relief outings with 10 holds, and he relieved Shinichiro Koyama in the 6th inning of Game 3 of the 2013 Japan Series. However, he surrendered a game-winning RBI single to Takayuki Terauchi, and Scott Mathieson got the win over him. The Golden Eagles beat the Yomiuri Giants in 7 games to win their first title. Hasebe's ERA was 3.79 in 26 appearances in 2014, but he had a 9.00 ERA in 3 games in 2015. He allowed 3 runs in 2 1/3 innings in 2016, and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Hasebe was 11-19 with a 5.37 ERA, struck out 205 and pitched 300 innings in 8 seasons in NPB. He threw a slider, changeup and a fastball (which had been timed at a high of 94.4 mph).

Sources

• IBAF site
• Japanese Wikipedia entry
• Wiki Baseball