Famous People in Japan



Kiyohara Kazuhiro

Date of Birth 18 August 1967
Place of Birth Osaka

Kiyohara Kazuhiro is a Japanese professional baseball player getting an annual salary of \250,000,000 per year (approximately $2,500,000).

From when he was a boy, he was active as a pitcher and the fourth batter already in Kishiwada junior/senior leagues. Especially in the senior league, he made 3 successive homers!

Some years later, in his PL high school days, he played an active part as the fourth batter and led his team to Koshien Stadium successively 5 times out of 6 chances and the result was: 2 times for victories, 2 times for the second prize, and 1 time in the Best 4. Moreover, his glorious record for the most homers still holds at Koshien.

This is his record in high school days...

Batting average: .440
Home Runs: 64

After he graduated, he was drafted into the Seibu baseball team, and got off to a good start against the Nankai (the present Daiei). But, in fact, because his long cherished dream had been to play with the Giants, and they did choose not him, but his teammate Kuwata Masumi, he was greatly shocked. That's why, from that day on, Kuwata turned into his rival for life.

Some years after, when his team got a victory at last in 1990, he showed a tearful face for the great welled up joy during the game.

Here are his results of last year and previous records going on....

Batting average: .279
Home Runs: 26
RBI: 93
Best 9 (1988, 1990, 1992)
The Rookie King (1986, 31 homers)
Golden Glove Prize (1990, 1992, 1993, 1994)

He is also about to make a new record, that is, 300 homers!. And as there was a great Kansai earthquake in Japan, he contributes \10,000 every time he hits a homer.

In 1996 he became a Free Agent. And he managed to enter the Giants of his dreams. Now he is playing an active as the fourth batter for the Giants.

References: Pro Yakyu Senshu Meikan

Reported by: Kaori Nagato
Data verified by: Yumi Okuno
Date of Report: November 1995
Updated by: Yasunobu KusunokiMay,1998

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