Giichi Hayashi

Giichi Hayashi (林 義一)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 156 lb.

• School Meiji University
• High School Tokushima Shogyo High School

• Born February 1, 1920 in Tokushima, Tokushima Japan
• Died January 17, 2008 in Kita, Tokyo Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Giichi Hayashi pitched for a decade in Nippon Pro Baseball, going 98-98 with a 2.66 ERA. He led his league in both positive and negative categories during his career. Hayashi was noted for his submarine delivery and wide assortment of breaking balls.

Hayashi played in the Koshien Tournament three times in high school. After college, he played for Zen-Tokushima in the industrial leagues. He got his start in NPB late, being 29 when he debuted for the Daiei Stars in 1949, going 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA in four games. In 1950, he threw 254 2/3 innings, going 18-11 with a 2.40 ERA. He led the new Pacific League with five shutouts and was second to Jun Aramaki in ERA.

In 1951, the submariner fell to 12-11 despite a 2.54 ERA, 9th in the PL. He made the All-Star team that year. The next year, the right-hander had a 15-15, 2.97 record. He led the Pacific League with 269 2/3 innings pitched, 20 complete games (in 40 appearances), 1,097 batters faced and 249 hits allowed. Hayashi threw a no-hitter on April 27 against Hankyu for the first no-hitter in Pacific League history. He was 7th in the league in ERA that year.

Hayashi was 17-11 with a 2.66 ERA in 1953 with only 42 walks in 283 2/3 IP. He led the league in complete games (26), hits allowed (260), home runs allowed (13) and earned runs allowed (97) and made his third straight All-Star squad. He finished 9th in ERA.

In 1954, Hayashi's record was 8-20 with a 2.90 ERA. He went 19-15 in 1955 with a 2.36 ERA in 278 innings of work; he was 9th in the league in ERA and tied Mamoru Otsu and Takao Kajimoto for the shutout lead (6).

In his final season with Daiei in 1956, the veteran submariner was 4-12 with a 2.86 ERA and 17 walks in 109 1/3 innings. He joined the Hankyu Braves for the 1957 season and was 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA in a reduced role (59 2/3 innings, 21 games). He only pitched two innings in 1958 to wrap up his playing career.

After retiring as a player, Hayashi became the pitching coach for Hankyu. He took over the managerial reigns on June 20, 1959 and guided them to a 27-52-3 record the rest of the way. He managed the Kokutetsu Swallows for all of 1964, with a 61-74-5 record for a 5th-place finish. After a 2-10-1 start in 1965, he resigned. He later coached for the Hanshin Tigers and Seibu Lions.

Hayashi died of cardiac arrest in 2008.

Source: Japan Baseball Daily by Gary Garland