Kanei Kobayashi

Kanei Kobayashi (小林 幹英)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 191 lbs.

• School Senshu University
• High School Niigata Meikun High School

• Born January 29, 1974 in Niigata, Niigata, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kanei Kobayashi pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 8 years.

Kobayashi was drafted by the Hiroshima Carp in the fourth round of the 1997 NPB draft, and he soon became an important part of the Carp bullpen. He was the first player to win the Pitcher of the Month award in the first month of his rookie year, and secured the closer spot. He notched 18 saves with a 2.87 ERA, ranked 4th in the Central League in saves (27 behind Kazuhiro Sasaki) and 3rd in appearances (3 behind Tatsuhiro Yuminaga). He was also selected into the 1998 NPB All-Star Game; he relieved Shigeki Noguchi in the 8th inning and pitched a shutout inning in Game 1.

However, the Niigata native struggled in 1999 as his ERA rose to 5.86 and he only collected 10 saves. Kobayashi suffered from a left knee injury in 2000, so he only pitched 25 games with a 4.68 ERA. He bounced back in 2001, when he pitched 51 games with a 3.43 ERA as a middle-inning reliever. He improved to 3.18 ERA in 52 games in 2002, and ranked 6th in appearances (17 behind Hirotoshi Ishii).

Unfortunately, Kobayashi suffered a spinal disc herniation, and he only pitched 21 games combined in the next three seasons before he announced his retirement in 2005. He was the pitching coach for the Carp from 2006 to 2009 and from 2015 to 2018. He also coached for their minor league team from 2010 to 2014 and he was named their ni-gun pitching coach again in 2019.

Overall, Kobayashi was 19-22 with a 3.90 ERA, collected 29 saves, struck out 356 and pitched 337 innings in 8 years in NPB.