Toshihiro Hayashi

Toshihiro Hayashi (林 俊宏)

• Bats Both, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 191 lb.

• High School Chukyo Commercial High School

• Born April 6, 1944 in Nagoya, Aichi Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Toshihiro Hayashi spent sixteen seasons in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Hayashi had a 0-2, 3.31 record as a rookie for the Nankai Hawks in 1963. He went 3-5 with a 2.87 ERA and .220 opponent average in 49 games (8 starts) in 1964. In the 1964 Japan Series, he gave up two runs in 1 2/3 IP as Nankai beat the Hanshin Tigers for their last Japan Series title. Toshihiro made his only Pacific League All-Star team in 1965, and he pitched 3 shutout innings in the 1965 NPB All-Star Game 3. He went 17-3 with a 2.25 ERA and .197 opponent average for his best season, and he led the Pacific League in winning percentage. He finished 4th in the league in ERA (between Masayuki Nagayasu and Masaaki Ikenaga), 6th in wins (tied with Mitsugu Tanaka) and 6th in strikeouts (152, between Shigeo Ishii and Ikenaga). In the 1965 Japan Series, he was 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA, beating the Yomiuri Giants in game four for Nankai's lone win of the Series. He only pitched four games (2 R in 8 2/3 IP) in 1966 and gave up two runs in one inning in the 1966 Japan Series (won by the Giants).

The Aichi native was 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA in six relief outings in 1967, 8-4 with a 3.65 ERA in 1968, 2-2 with a 5.30 ERA in 1969 and allowed three runs (two earned) in two innings in 1970 to end his pitching career. Despite having hit only .195 during his pitching career, Hayashi was converted to first base. He hit .270/.299/.301 in 68 plate appearances in 1971 and was 6 for 20 with three walks in 1972 but batted only .152/.268/.239 in 57 plate appearances in 1973. He was 1 for 2 as a pinch-hitter in the 1973 Japan Series, backing up Clarence Jones at first base, as Nankai again fell to Yomiuri.In 78 plate appearances in 1974, Hayashi put up a .284/.321/.446 line to win a semi-regular role in 1975, but he fell to .224/.278/.327 in 216 plate appearances. He was 4 for 42 with a walk in 1976, 9 for 40 with 3 walks and a double in 1977 and got into one game without batting in 1978.

Overall, Hayashi had a 29-17, 3.14 record in 150 games in 8 seasons in NPB. As a batter, he hit .219/.273/.310 with 132 hits in 16 seasons for his career.

Sources

• Wiki Japan