Masanori Hayashi

Masanori Hayashi (林 昌範)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 185 lb.

• High School Funabashi High School

• Born September 19, 1983 in Funabashi, Chiba Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Masanori Hayashi pitched for 13 years in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Due to a foot fracture in high school, teams that were interested stepped back. He was picked in the 7th round in 2001 NPB draft by the Yomiuri Giants. He debuted in Nippon Pro Baseball in 2003, going 3-3 with a 3.22 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 72 2/3 IP. Hayashi had a 3-9, 4.89 record in 2004. He moved to the bullpen in 2005 and did very well, going 2-2 with 18 saves and a .191 opponent average, fanning 67 in 67 innings. He was 5th in saves (between John Bale and Yuya Kubo) and 9th in appearances. The left-hander was 4-4 with a 2.88 ERA in 2006 with 56 1/3 IP in 62 games as a LOOGY; Katsuhiro Nagakawa took over as closer. He was 4th in the CL in appearances (between Kyuji Fujikawa and Masaki Hayashi) and 7th in holds (20). He was plagued by elbow problems that year but controlled the situation with pain killers. A bone spur was discovered but Hayashi opted against surgery.

Hayashi's shoulder was injured in 2007 and he was 2-1 with 3 saves and a 3.29 ERA in 41 games (38 1/3 IP). In the 2007 NPB All-Star Game 1, he teamed with Koji Uehara, Shingo Takatsu, Atsushi Kizuka, Hitoki Iwase, Tomoyuki Kubota, Hiroki Kuroda, Marc Kroon and Kyuji Fujikawa on a one-hit shutout of the Pacific League All-Stars. He decided to have the bone spur surgery following that campaign. He struggled with control issues in 2008, walking 14 in 10 2/3 IP; he had a 6.75 ERA and no decisions and spent much of the year in ni-gun.

The Giants then traded Hayashi with Tomohiro Nioka to the Nippon Ham Fighters for Micheal Nakamura and Takahito Kudoh. He went 3-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 46 games for Nippon Ham in 2009, holding left-handed batters to a .167 average (righties hit .261). He pitched in five of six games in the 2009 Japan Series, which Nippon Ham lost to Yomiuri. In game five, he allowed a game-tying single in the 8th to platoon specialist Noriyoshi Omichi. Hayashi notched 14 holds with a 2.64 ERA in 36 games in 2010, but he allowed 6 runs in 4 innings in 2011 and he was released.

Hayashi signed with the Yokohama BayStars, and he had a solid 1.91 ERA in 32 appearances in 2012. He only pitched 14 games with a 3.00 ERA in 2013, then he collected 15 holds with a 3.15 ERA in 56 relief outings. He was 10th in games. However, Hayashi suffered from left shoulder injuries, and his ERA rose to 7.23 in 24 games in 2015. He didn't reach the big club again, and he announced his retirement in 2017.

Overall, Hayashi was 22-26 with a 3.49 ERA, collected 22 saves and 99 holds in 421 appearances, struck out 502 and pitched 536 innings in 13 seasons in NPB. As of 2025, he was 55th in holds in NPB history, tying Hirokazu Sawamura.

Source

• Japan Baseball Daily by Gary Garland
• Wiki Japan