Masahiro Kuroda

Masahiro Kuroda (黒田 正宏)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 171 lb.

• School Hosei University
• High School Himeji Minami High School

• Born December 21, 1947 in Himeji, Hyogo Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Masahiro Kuroda has played in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Kuroda was on the Japanese national team in the 1969 Asian Championship as the country won its sixth title. The Nankai Hawks drafted him in the sixth round of the 1969 NPB draft. Since they already had legend catcher Katsuya Nomura, Kuroda didn't have many chances. He only played 67 games in the first six seasons in his career. He finally took the starting catcher spot in 1978, hitting .184/.283/.254 and collecting a league-leading 17 hit-by-pitches. The Hyogo native suffered a rib injury, and missed nearly half of the 1979 season. He came back and hit .249/.354/.344 in 101 games in 1980. However, when Nobuyuki Kagawa joined the team, Kuroda's spot was taken due to his weak batting, and he only played 79 games in 1981. He was traded with Shinsaku Katahira to the Seibu Lions for Ritsuo Yamashita and Yoshinori Yamamura after the 1981 season.

Kuroda hit .213/.259/.236 in the first season with the Lions, shared the starting catcher spot with Tomoyoshi Oishi. In 1982 Nippon Series, Kuroda went 3-for-14 with 3 RBI - both in Game 1, and helped the Lions beat the Chunichi Dragons in six games. He recorded a worse .154/.234/.185 batting line in 1983. He was 1-for-5 in 1983 Nippon Series, and the Lions beat the Yomiuri Giants in 7 games. He announced his retirement after the 1984 season. After retiring, Kuroda was the battery coach for the Lions from 1985 to 1989. In 1990, he transferred to the Daiei Hawks and served as bench coach, but he only worked two seasons and came to the Hanshin Tigers after the 1991 season. He was the battery coach for the Tigers from 1999 to 2000.

Overall, Kuroda had hit .197/.281/.266 in 12 seasons in NPB.