- Hideki Irabu
Infobox MLB retired
width=200
name=Hideki Irabu
position=Starting Pitcher
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1969|5|15
debutdate=July 10
debutyear=1997
debutteam=New York Yankees
finaldate=July 12
finalyear=2002
finalteam=Texas Rangers
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=34-35
stat2label=Strikeout s
stat2value=405
stat3label=ERA
stat3value=5.15
teams=
*Lotte Orions (NPB) (by|1988-by|1996)
*New York Yankees (by|1997-by|1999)
*Montreal Expos (by|2000-by|2001)
*Texas Rangers (by|2002)
*Hanshin Tigers (NPB) (by|2003-by|2004)
highlights=Hideki Irabu (Japanese: 伊良部 秀輝, born in Hirara (now: Miyakojima),
Okinawa Prefecture ,Japan onMay 15 ,1969 and brought up in Amagasaki,Hyōgo Prefecture ) is a former professionalbaseball player.Irabu pitched for the
Lotte Orions , who later became theChiba Lotte Marines , of thePacific League from 1988 to 1996. He was known as a high-speed pitcher and in 1993, he threw a 158km/h (98mph) fastball againstKazuhiro Kiyohara of theSeibu Lions . This was the fastest clocked pitch in all ofJapanese Professional Baseball (NPB) until 2005, when the record was broken byMarc Kroon of theYokohama Bay Stars . However, it remains thePacific League record. Irabu led the Pacific League in wins in 1994 (27 games, 207 1/3 innings, 15 wins, 10 losses, 239 strikeouts, ERA 3.04), and in ERA in 1995 and 1996 (1995 - 28, 203, 11-11-0, 239, 2.53; 1996 - 18, 157 1/3, 12-6-0, 167, 2.40). In these successive years, Irabu monopolized the title of greatest strikeout pitcher in his league.In 1997, the
San Diego Padres purchased his contract from the Chiba Lotte Marines. This signing is especially notable because it led to the creation of theposting system currently used by Japanese and MLB teams [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=2697354&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos2] ] . Irabu, however, refused to sign with the Padres, saying he would only play with the Yankees. For the negotiating rights to Irabu, the Yankees offered the Padres a choice of one from a list of players includingBrian Boehringer ,David Weathers ,Chris Cumberland ,Andy Fox , andMatt Luke . The Padres would eventually include him as a player-to-be-named-later in a trade that involvedHomer Bush and Irabu traveling to theNew York Yankees in exchange for [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Rafael_Medina Rafael Medina] ] ,Ruben Rivera , and $3 million in cash. The Yankees signed him to a $12.8 million, four-year contract, and after only eight minor league games, the Yankees put him in their rotation.He played with the Yankees from 1997 through 1999, winning two
World Series rings (1998, 1999) despite only pitching in one postseason game and having no postseason decisions (ironically, the 1998 win was against the Padres).George Steinbrenner publicly expressed disgust at his weight, at one point calling him a "fat pussy toad" after he failed to cover first base on a ground ball during a spring training game. Steinbrenner refused to let Irabu accompany the team to Los Angeles, but two days later, Steinbrenner apologized and allowed Irabu to join the team. [http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/steinbrenner.html] 1998 was his best season in MLB, featuring career bests in games started (28), complete games (2), innings pitched (173), wins (13), and ERA (4.06). His high salary at the time and lack of performance led many Yankees fans to nickname him Hideki "I rob you", a play on his name Irabu.After the 1999 season, he was traded to the
Montreal Expos forTed Lilly , Christian Parker, andJake Westbrook . He started only 14 games for the Expos in 2000 and 2001, pitching 71⅓ innings with a 6.69 ERA and only 2 wins against 7 losses. In 2002, he signed as afree agent to pitch for the Texas Rangers as a closer. At the end of the year, Irabu moved back to Japan to pitch in theHanshin Tigers ' starting rotation for the 2003 season, helping the team win theCentral League pennant for the first time since 1985. WhenMajor League Baseball opened its 2004 season in Tokyo, he pitched against theTampa Bay Devil Rays . Today, Irabu is retired and living in California.Over the course of six MLB seasons, Irabu's career totals are 126 games, 514 innings, 34 wins, 35 losses, 16 saves, 405 strikeouts, and a 5.15 ERA. His Japanese totals for eleven seasons are 273 games, 1,286 1/3 innings, 72 wins, 69 losses, 11 saves, 1,282 strikeouts, and a 3.55 ERA.
On
August 20 ,2008 , Irabu was arrested on the suspicion of assaulting the manager of the bar inUmeda ,Osaka . He was upset that hisCenturion Card was not accepted in the bar. At the time of the suspected assault, Irabu had consumed at least 20 glasses of beer. The police released him the next day.ee also
*
New York Yankees all-time roster
*Montreal Expos all-time roster References
External links
*baseballstats |mlb= |espn= |br=i/irabuhi01 |fangraphs=1255 |cube=I/hideki-irabu
* [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/stats_historical/mlb_player_locator_results.jsp?playerLocator=irabu MLB.com: Hideki Irabu]
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5845 ESPN.com: Hideki Irabu]
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