Yosuke Hiraishi

Yosuke Hiraishi (平石 洋介)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 165 lb.

• School Doshisha University
• High School PL Gakuen High School

• Born April 23, 1980 in Kitsuki, Oita Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yosuke Hiraishi has played, coached and managed in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Hiraishi hit .350 in college. He produced at a .375/.423/.417 for Japan when they won Bronze in the 2002 World University Championship, starting in right field. He batted .330 for Toyota Motors in the industrial leagues. He was with Japan for the 2004 Haarlem Baseball Week. He was a 7th-round pick of the Rakuten Golden Eagles in the 2004 NPB draft.

The Doshisa alumnus got his first hit in NPB off Shintaro Yoshitake; he hit .178/.288/.178 in 53 plate appearances in 2005 and fielded .870 as a backup outfielder. He was 1 for 7 in 2006 but starred in the minor Eastern League, leading in OBP (.429) and finishing second in average (.328). He spent 2007 in the minors then was 3 for 13 with a walk and a double in 2008. His only home run in NPB came in 2009 off Takashi Kamoshida; he hit .254/.286/.441 in 64 plate appearances as a solid bench contributor. He fell to .242/.342/.333 in 38 plate appearances in 2010 and was 2 for 15 with a walk in 2011.

In 122 games in NPB, he hit .215/.288/.302 in 193 plate appearances, with 16 runs and 10 RBI. He fielded .910 in the outfield and had 86 error-free chances at first base. He then became a coach and later manager in the Rakuten system, taking over managing for the Golden Eagles partway in 2018 from Masataka Nashida and going 37-41-2 the rest of the way, not enough to rescue them from last place after a 21-41 start under Nashida. He was 71-68-4 in 2019, taking Rakuten to the playoffs for a big turnaround from last place. Surprisingly, Rakuten did not renew his contract; he then moved to the Softbank Hawks as coach.