Masato Kawano

Masato Kawano (河野 昌人)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 191 lb.

• High School Ryukoku High School

• Born May 7, 1978 in Saga, Saga Japan
• Died June 16, 2017 in Saga, Saga Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Masato Kawano pitched for seven seasons in Nippon Pro Baseball and in the Olympics.

Kawano was a third-round pick of the Hiroshima Carp in the 1996 NPB draft. He made it to the big club in 1998 but went 0-3 with 11 walks and 15 runs in 13 2/3 IP. He had a 1-3, 5.07 record with 37 walks in 49 2/3 IP in 1999. Moving to the bullpen, Masato went 4-5 with 9 saves and a 4.52 ERA in 2000. He made Japan's squad for the 2000 Olympics, tossing four shutout innings, best on the team.

Kawano fell to 2-4, 8.15 in 2001 and hurt his elbow. He had surgery but his woes continued in 2002 (23 R in 28 IP) and 2003 (2 H, 2 BB, 2 R in 1 IP). The latter year, down on the farm, he set a Western League record with 11 runs in an inning.

Released by Hiroshima, the Daiei Hawks signed him but he did little in 2004 (0-1, Sv, 8.71 in 10 G) and retired. Overall, he was 7-16 with 10 saves and a 5.82 ERA in 110 games in NPB, with 101 walks and 205 hits in 184 innings.

He died of ischemic heart disease at age 39.

Sources

• Defunct IBAF site
• Japanbaseballdaily.com