is a Japanese right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puerto ...

for

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 ...

. As a relief pitcher Kobayashi throws a fastball that sits in 87-91 mph (tops out at 93 mph), silder, change-up, and an effective forkball as his out pitch.

External links

*
Hiroyuki Kobayashi, JapaneseBallPlayers.com
1978 births 2006 World Baseball Classic players Chiba Lotte Marines players Hanshin Tigers players Japanese baseball players Living people Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers People from Sōka Saitama Seibu Lions players Baseball people from Saitama Prefecture {{Japan-baseball-pitcher-stub