was a Japanese baseball

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

from Daitō,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

who played professionally for the Orix Buffaloes. He played two seasons for the club, hitting .262 in his rookie year in 2008Hiroyuki Oze Batting Statistics
Baseball Cube and .303 in 2009, his final professional season.
, ''

Mainichi Daily News The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

'', February 5, 2010. Before joining the Buffaloes, he played at Jinsei Gakuen High School and

Kinki University is a private non-sectarian and coeducational university based in Higashiosaka, Osaka, Japan with campuses in five other locations: Nara, Nara; Ōsakasayama, Osaka; Uchita, Wakayama; Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima; and Iizuka, Fukuoka. The En ...

, where he was drafted in 2007. Oze received the memorable nickname "José" from Orix alum

Ichiro Suzuki , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played professionally for 28 seasons. He played nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), where he began his ...

during the latter's visit to Buffaloes spring training. Oze died on February 5, 2010, in an apparent suicide by jumping from the tenth floor of his hotel during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

Miyakojima, Okinawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, located on the Miyako Islands. As of 2012, it had a population of 54,908. The current mayor is Kazuyuki Zakimi, who took office on January 25, 2021. History The modern city of Miyakoji ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oze, Yukinori Orix Buffaloes players 1985 births 2010 suicides 2010 deaths Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Japanese baseball players People from Daitō, Osaka Suicides by jumping in Japan