Yu Hanai

Yu Hanai (花井 悠)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 150 lb.

• School Keio University
• High School Gifu High School

• Born January 9, 1932 in Gifu Prefecture Japan
• Died December 14, 2007

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yu Hanai played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 8 years.

Hanai signed with the Nishitetsu Lions in 1957, and he hit .239/.343/.307 in 78 games in his first season. The outfielder then had a .243/.302/.294 batting line in 1958, and he went 2-for-10 in the 1958 Nippon Series; the Lions beat the Yomiuri Giants in 7 games. Hanai played 123 games while hitting .254/.313/.320 in 1959, and he improved to .313/.382/.403 in 113 games in 1960. Had he qualified, he would've ranked 3rd in batting in the Central League (between Kazuhiko Kondo and Toshio Naka). Hanai's batting line fell to .234/.308/.355 in 1961, then he hit .234/.289/.311 in 97 games in 1962. He had a .299/.397/.433 in 1963, but he went 13-for-80 in 1964 and he announced his retirement. Hanai later became the minor league batting coach for the Lions from 1965 to 1967.

Overall, Hanai hit .256/.324/.338 with 358 hits and 10 homers in 8 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan