Hiromitsu Negoro

Hiromitsu Negoro (根来 広光)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 162 lb.

• High School Fuchu High School

• Born September 24, 1936 in Fuchu, Hiroshima Japan
• Died November 27, 2009 in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Catcher Hiromitsu Negoro was a 4-time All-Star in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Negoro was signed by the Kokutetsu Swallows in 1957 as a pitcher, and he spent most of his first two seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues. He pitched 3 games in 1957, and the Swallows turned him into a catcher in 1958. Negoro was named as their starting catcher in 1959, and he hit .225/.274/.352 in 101 games. His batting line was .203/.260/.328 in 1959, then he hit .192/.252/.280 in 1960. Although his batting was weak, Negoro still held the starting catcher spot for 8 years because of his excellent defensive skill. It was said that he was the only catcher who could catch Masaichi Kaneda's ball.

The Hiroshima native was selected into the 1961 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 0-for-1. He ended up hitting .221/.274/.300 in 1961, then he recorded a .201/.245/.273 batting line in 1962. Negoro then attended the 1963 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 0-for-1. His batting line was .229/.268/.283 in 1963, then he improved to .244/.283/.340 in 1964. He tied the Central League record with a 8-at-bat hitting streak in 1964 (the record holders are R.J. Reynolds and Yoshinobu Takahashi through 2023), and he was also selected into the 1964 NPB All-Star Game; he was 0-for-1. Negoro attended the All-Star Game in the next summer, and he was 1-for-2, with a single against Toshiaki Tokuhisa in Game 2. He had a .217/.260/.335 batting line in 1965, but he slumped to .097/.110/.111 in 1966 and Yoshitaka Okamoto took his spot.

Negoro was then traded to the Hankyu Braves, and he hit .179/.227/.286 in 55 games in 1967. He was the starting catcher in the 1967 Nippon Series Game 3, and he was 0-for-1. He didn't have another at-bats in that series, and the Braves were beaten by the Yomiuri Giants in 6 games. Negoro only played 11 games for the Braves in 1968, and he announced his retirement. He then coached the Braves from 1970 to 1973, for the Lotte Orions from 1974 to 1979, for the Yakult Swallows from 1980 to 1988 and for the Orix BlueWave from 1992 to 1997. He passed away in 2009 due to stomach cancer.

Overall, Negoro hit .213/.259/.302 with 575 hits and 50 homers in 12 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1965 NPB All Star Game