Shinya Kobayashi

Shinya Kobayashi (小林 晋哉)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 7", Weight 165 lb.

• School Kyoto Sangyo University
• High School Ikuei High School

• Born October 28, 1952 in Shiso, Hyogo Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shinya Kobayashi has played in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Japanese national team.

Kobayashi represented Japan in 1976 Amateur World Series. The Hankyu Braves drafted him in the fourth round of the 1978 NPB draft. He spent the first three years of his career in the NPB Farm Leagues, only playing 56 games combined with the big club. The Hyogo native secured an outfield starting spot in 1981, and hit .282/.327/.376 with 3 homers. He recorded a .263/.328/.428batting line in 1982, but he slumped to .204/.309/.325 in 1983. He batted .277/.338/.429 in 1984, and went 6-for-19 with a home run (off Manabu Kitabeppu) in the 1984 Nippon Series. When prospect Terumitsu Kumano shined in 1985, Kobayashi lost his spot and hit .255/.330/.418 in 87 games as a 4th outfielder. He recorded a terrible .218/.323/.373 batting line in 1986, and it declined even further to .208/.288/.292 in 1987. Kobayashi announced his retirement after the 1987 season, and became a coach for the Braves from 1992 to 1999. He was also the hitting coach for the SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization in 2010 KBO.

Overall, Kobayashi had hit .257/.326/.395 in 10 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• Defunct IBAF site