is a
Japanese professional
baseball pitcher for the
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
's
Nippon Professional Baseball.
Professional career
On October 29, 2009, Kawahara was drafted by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the 2009 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.
2010–2020 season
In 2010 - 2011 season, Kawahara played in the
Western League of NPB's second league and played in informal matches against the
Shikoku Island League Plus's teams.
In 2012 season, in the match against the
Yomiuri Giants in the
Interleague play on May 20, 2012, he debuted as a
relief pitcher and pitched two games in the Pacific League.
In 2013 season, Kawahara only pitched one game in the Interleague play.
In 2014 season, Kawahara had no chance to pitch in the Pacific League.
In 2015 season, Kawahara had a left shoulder surgery on March 24 and
Tommy John surgery
Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...
on November 25. Since rehabilitation is expected to require more than a year, he left the active roster and signed as a
developmental player In Major League Soccer, in addition to the senior roster, each team can carry a developmental roster of a certain number of young players whose contracts do not count against the salary cap. The allowable size of developmental rosters has varied th ...
on December 17.
In 2016 season, Kawahara spent the season rehabilitating his left elbow.
On June 10, 2017, Kawahara threw in a practice game for the first time in two years and eight months. From 2017 season to 2018 season, he played in informal matches against
Shikoku Island League Plus's teams and amateur baseball teams, and played in the
Western League of NPB's minor leagues.
On March 26, 2019, Kawahara signed a 5 million yen contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as a
registered player under control. On March 30, he pitched in the
Pacific League for the first time in six years and recorded his first
Hold. In 2019 season, he recorded with a 19 Games pitched, a 0–0 Win–loss record, a 2.66 ERA, a one Holds, a 10 strikeouts in 23.2 innings. In the
2019 Japan Series
The 2019 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2019'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2019 season. The 70th edition of the Japan Series, it was played from 19-23 October. Th ...
against the
Yomiuri Giants, he was selected as the Japan Series roster.
In the match against the
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters on July 2, 2020, Kawahara pitched as a relief pitcher in a bases-loaded, a two-out situation and recorded a hold.
In 2020 season, he recorded with a 22 Games pitched, a 0–0 Win–loss record, a 2.00 ERA, a 4 Holds, a 15 strikeouts in 18 innings.
References
External links
NPB stats- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawahara, Hiroyuki
1991 births
Living people
Baseball people from Chiba Prefecture
Japanese expatriate baseball players in Puerto Rico
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players
Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers
Criollos de Caguas players