Katsumi Hirosawa (広澤克実, born April 10, 1962) is a former

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

player. A slugger who divided his time between infield (first base and third base) and the outfield, Hirosawa played for the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

, the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

, and the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railway ...

. Hirosawa was a four-time Central League Best Nine Award-winner, an eight-time NPB All-Star (including winning the NPB All-Star Game

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

in the 1991 Game 2), and twice led the Central League in RBI. Before joining the Swallows, Hirosawa played baseball for Japan in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Although baseball was a

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games, but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration spor ...

during that Olympics (and no medals were awarded), the Japanese team defeated the United States to take the "gold medal." Hirosawa was part of the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

-champion Swallows team that lost the 1992 Japan Series to Seibu, as well as the championship team that defeated the Lions in a rematch in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. Hirosawa topped off his playing career as part of the 2003 Hanshin Tigers squad that narrowly lost the Japan Series to the

Fukuoka Daiei Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

. After retiring he served as a coach on the Tigers from 2007–2008.

External links

1962 births Living people Baseball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Hanshin Tigers players Japanese baseball coaches Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Meiji University alumni Nippon Professional Baseball coaches Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Olympic baseball players for Japan Olympic gold medalists for Japan Baseball people from Ibaraki Prefecture Yakult Swallows players Yomiuri Giants players {{Japan-baseball-infielder-stub

See also

External links