Takeshi Hibino

Takeshi Hibino (日比野 武)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 156 lb.

• High School Chukyo Shogyo High School, Toho High School

• Born April 22, 1920 in Aichi Prefecture Japan
• Died September 16, 1975

BR register page

Biographical Information

Catcher Takeshi Hibino was a three-time All-Star in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Hibino was signed by the Hankyu Braves in 1939, and he hit .202/.277/.264 in 57 games in his rookie year. He had a .182/.289/.202 batting line in 1940, then he crushed 3 homers with a .220/.304/.282 batting line in 1941. After hitting .169/.249/.203 in 89 games in 1942, Hibino was enlisted to the military and missed the next two seasons. He had a .269/.335/.381 batting line with 4 homers after returning to the Braves in 1946, then he had a .233/.260/.301 batting line in 1947. Hibino improved to .262/.322/.306 in 1948, and he crushed 9 homers with a .255/.311/.346 batting line in 1949.

When the Nishi-Nippon Pirates was founded in 1950, scout Isao Udaka persuaded Hibino to jump to the Pirates, and he crushed a career-high 10 homers with a .287/.359/.422 batting line. The Pirates became the Nishitetsu Lions in 1951, and his batting line was .270/.353/.368 with 6 homers. Hibino then hit .272/.332/.394 with 8 homers in 1952, but he slumped to .199/.266/.279 in 1953. He bounced back in 1954, hitting .230/.297/.293 with 3 homers in 113 games. Hibino was also selected into the 1954 NPB All-Star Games, but he didn't play in either of the games. In the 1954 Nippon Series, he crushed a solo home run against Shigeru Sugishita in Game 1, and he was 1-for-2 in Game 2. Hibino then blasted another solo shot off Nobuo Oshima in Game 3, and he added a double against Kikuo Tokunaga. He was 2-for-4 in Game 4, and he hit his third homer of the series in the 9th inning of the Game 5 against Sugishita. Hibino had a 2-for-7 record combined in the next two games, and the Chunichi Dragons beat the Lions. He led the Series in homers and batting average, but Hiroshi Oshita won the Fighting Spirit Award as MVP of the losing entry.

The Aichi native attended the All-Star Game in the next summer, and he was 0-for-1. Hibino ended up hitting .232/.302/.286 in 1955, and he had a .233/.284/.269 batting line in 1956. He was selected into the 1956 NPB All-Star Games, but he didn't get a single at-bat. In the 1956 Nippon Series, Hibino was 4-for-13 and he won his first Nippon Series title as the Lions beat the Yomiuri Giants in 6 games. He then hit .234/.273/.255 in 59 games as a backup behind Hiromi Wada in 1957, and he only had 46 at-bats with a .122/.163/.122 batting line in 1958. He was 1-for-13 in the 1958 Nippon Series, and the Lions beat the Giants in 7 games. Hibino only played 13 more games for the Lions in 1959, and he announced his retirement. He then coached the Lions from 1960 to 1961.

Overall, Hibino hit .237/.303/.310 with 1,048 hits and 56 homers in 18 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1956 NPB All Star Game