Kazuhiro Kuroda

Kazuhiro Kuroda (黒田 一博, September 13, 1924 – August 17, 2007) was a Japanese professional baseball centerfielder in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Kazuhiro Kuroda
Center fielder
Born: (1924-09-13)September 13, 1924
Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan
Died: August 17, 2007(2007-08-17) (aged 82)
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Teams

Career

Kuroda attended Sasebo Shogyo High School.

Kuroda was a center fielder for eight years in NPB. He debuted with the 1949 Nankai Hawks, hitting .324/.360/.408 in 51 games, mostly as a bench player. In 1950, Kuroda hit .257/.282/.405 in his first year as a regular, then he batted .259/.279/.382 the next season. In 1952, Kazuhiro had a .241/.263/.324 year and he finished his Nankai run at .246/.287/.322 in 1953. Kuroda was taken in the expansion draft by the new Takahashi Unions and hit .246/.290/.334 their first year. In 1955, he slipped to .237/.269/.307, then he finished his career by going just 7 for 62 for the 1956 Daiei Stars. Overall, his batting line read .246/.279/.340.

Retirement

After retiring, he opened a sports store and was active in Little League. He died of lung cancer at age 82.

Personal life

Kuroda's wife, Yasuko,[1] competed in the 1964 Olympics in the shot put. His son, Hiroki, pitched in NPB and Major League Baseball.[2]

References
  1. Hernandez, Dylan. "THE RISING SON," Los Angeles Times (OCT. 18, 2009).
  2. LaRue, Larry. "M’s deal Broussard, keep Ramirez," The News Tribune (December 12, 2007).
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