is a former professional baseball

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 ...

and pitching coach. From -, Kobayashi played in the

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 ...

league for the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural ...

. From -, he played for Major League Baseball's

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. He was a member of the Japanese Olympic baseball team for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

and won a bronze medal. He led the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

in saves in 2005, and made his 200th save in 2006, becoming the third player in Japanese baseball to reach the mark, after

Kazuhiro Sasaki Kazuhiro "Daimajin" Sasaki (佐々木主浩 ''Sasaki Kazuhiro'', born February 22, 1968) is a former Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played his entire NPB career with the Yokohama Taiyo W ...

and

Shingo Takatsu Shingo Takatsu (高津臣吾, ''Takatsu Shingo'') (born November 25, 1968) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher and manager. He had a short stint with the Chicago White Sox where he was the closer for two seasons until struggles closing ...

. After the 2007 season, he became the only pitcher to record 20 or more saves seven straight years. On November 2, , he declared his

Free Agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

and expressed his interest in playing for a major league club for the 2008 season. On November 20, he signed a two-year, $6,250,000 deal with the

. The deal included a $3.25m club option for a third year. During the 2008 season, Kobayashi had an average season, going 4–5 with a 4.53 ERA and 6 saves. He started to falter late during the year and thus, his performance declined. In 2009, Kobayashi had 10 appearances (9.2 innings) with no decisions or saves. His ERA was a booming 8.38 and on May 16 he was designated for assignment. He accepted and was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus. He was released on July 18, 2009. He signed a one-year contract with 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 ...

for the 2009 season. After sitting out 2010, he joined the Orix Buffaloes for the 2011 season.

References

External links

Japanese league stats and info of Masahide Kobayashi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobayashi, Masahide 1974 births Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Chiba Lotte Marines players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Japanese baseball coaches Japanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Living people Major League Baseball players from Japan Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Nippon Professional Baseball coaches Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Olympic baseball players of Japan Olympic bronze medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in baseball Orix Buffaloes players People from Ōtsuki, Yamanashi Baseball people from Yamanashi Prefecture Yomiuri Giants players