is a Japanese

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

for the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

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 ...

(NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the

Tokyo 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 ...

and

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 ...

Professional career

Tokyo Yakult Swallows

On October 22, 2015, Hirooka was drafted by the

in the

2015 Nippon Professional Baseball draft The 2015 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Draft was held on October 22, , for the 51st time at the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa to assign amateur baseball players to the NPB. It was arranged with the special cooperation of Taisho Pharmaceutica ...

. On September 29, 2016, Hirooka debuted in 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 ...

against the

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its c ...

, and recorded his first

Home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

. In 2016 - 2020 season, he recorded in 236 games with a batting average of .214, a 21 home runs, a RBI of 54.

Yomiuri Giants

On March 1, 2021, Hirooka was traded to the

. Hirooka played in 78 games for Yomiuri, hitting .189/.256/.387 with 5 home runs and 15 RBI. In 2022, Hirooka played in only 28 games for the Giants, struggling to a .180/.293/.280 slash line with no home runs and 4 RBI.

Orix Buffaloes

On May 17, 2023, Hirooka was traded to the

in exchange for Kohei Suzuki (K–Suzuki).

References

External links

NPB.jp
1997 births Living people Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball shortstops Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Baseball people from Osaka People from Abeno, Osaka Tokyo Yakult Swallows players Yomiuri Giants players Orix Buffaloes players {{Japan-baseball-infielder-stub