Hideki Irabu

Hideki Irabu (伊良部 秀輝, Irabu Hideki, May 5, 1969 – July 27, 2011) was a Japanese professional baseball player of American and Japanese mixed ancestry. He played professionally in both Japan and the United States. Irabu left Japan for the San Diego Padres under a controversial deal that would lead to future changes. In 1997, he joined the New York Yankees to much fanfare; however, he was ultimately unsuccessful in the MLB. Due to the money and players spent to get him, and his eventual lack of success, Yankee fans sometimes joked his name was I-rob-you.[1] Irabu died by suicide in 2011.

Hideki Irabu
Irabu pitching for the Long Beach Armada
Pitcher
Born: (1969-05-05)May 5, 1969
Hirara, Okinawa, Japan
Died: July 27, 2011(2011-07-27) (aged 42)
Rancho Palos Verdes, California, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
Professional debut
NPB: May 7, 1988, for the Lotte Orions
MLB: July 10, 1997, for the New York Yankees
Last appearance
NPB: June 11, 2004, for the Hanshin Tigers
MLB: July 12, 2002, for the Texas Rangers
NPB statistics
Win–loss record72–69
Earned run average3.55
Strikeouts1,282
MLB statistics
Win–loss record34–35
Earned run average5.15
Strikeouts405
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Irabu was born on May 5, 1969 in Hirara (present: Miyakojima),[2] Okinawa, Japan (then administered by the government of the United States). His father was a U.S. Air Force meteorologist named Steve Thompson, married to a woman in the United States at the time. Thompson, who had been redeployed to Vietnam before his son's birth, briefly visited young Hideki and his mother a year later, but they would not again meet until after Irabu reached the U.S. major leagues.[3] Hideki's mother, Kazue, a native of Miyako, later married a restaurateur, Ichiro Irabu, from Osaka. Irabu raised Hideki as his son in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture.[4][5]

Career

Lotte Orions / Chiba Lotte Marines

Irabu pitched for the Lotte Orions, who later became the Chiba Lotte Marines, of the Pacific League from 1988 to 1996. He was known as a high-speed pitcher and in 1993, he threw a 158 km/h (98 mph) fastball against Kazuhiro Kiyohara of the Seibu Lions. This was the fastest clocked pitch in all of Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB) until 2005, when the record was broken by Marc Kroon of the Yokohama BayStars.[6][7]

Irabu led the Pacific League in wins in 1994 (15) and in ERA in 1995 and 1996 (2.53 & 2.40, respectively). He also led the Pacific League in strikeouts in 1994 and 1995 (239 & 167, respectively).[8]

New York Yankees

In 1997, the San Diego Padres purchased Irabu's contract from the Chiba Lotte Marines. The criticisms of this sale from other MLB teams, who wished to bid on Irabu, led to the creation of the posting system currently used by Japanese and MLB teams.[9] Irabu, however, refused to sign with the Padres, saying he would only play with the Yankees. For the negotiating rights to Irabu, the Yankees offered the Padres a choice of one from a list of players including Brian Boehringer, David Weathers, Chris Cumberland, Andy Fox and Matt Luke. The Padres eventually included him as a player-to-be-named-later in a trade that involved Homer Bush and Irabu going to the New York Yankees in exchange for Rafael Medina, Rubén Rivera, and $3 million in cash.[10] The Yankees signed Irabu to a $12.8 million, four-year contract, and after only eight minor league appearances, the Yankees put him in their rotation.[11]

Irabu made his highly publicized debut on July 10, 1997, drawing almost twice as many fans that night as they averaged for weeknight games.[12] He played with the Yankees from 1997 through 1999, winning two World Series rings (1998, 1999) despite only pitching in one postseason game and having no postseason decisions. George Steinbrenner publicly expressed disgust at his weight, at one point calling him a "fat pussy toad"[13] after he failed to cover first base on a ground ball during a spring training game. Steinbrenner refused to let Irabu accompany the team to Los Angeles, but two days later, Steinbrenner apologized and allowed Irabu to join the team.[14]

1998 was Irabu's best season in MLB, featuring career bests in games started (28), complete games (2), innings pitched (173), wins (13), and ERA (4.06).[15] Despite his inconsistency, Irabu was twice named the American League's Pitcher of the Month: in May 1998 and June 1999.

Montreal Expos

After the 1999 season, he was traded to the Montreal Expos for Ted Lilly, Christian Parker, and Jake Westbrook.[2] He started only 14 games for the Expos in 2000 and 2001, pitching 71⅓ innings with a 6.69 ERA and only 2 wins against 7 losses.[15]

Texas Rangers

In 2002, he signed as a free agent to pitch for the Texas Rangers as a closer.[15]

Hanshin Tigers

At the end of the 2002 season, Irabu moved back to Japan to pitch in the Hanshin Tigers' starting rotation for the 2003 season, helping the team win the Central League pennant for the first time since 1985.

Before the 2004 season, he pitched 2004 MLB Japan Opening Series exhibition games against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Over the course of six MLB seasons, Irabu's career totals are 126 games, 514 innings, 34 wins, 35 losses, 16 saves, 405 strikeouts, and a 5.15 ERA.[15] His Japanese totals for eleven seasons are 273 games, 1,286​1⁄3 innings, 72 wins, 69 losses, 11 saves, 1,282 strikeouts, and a 3.55 ERA.

In April 2009, Irabu had come out of retirement and made a contract with Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden Baseball League. He posted a 5–3 record in 10 starts, with an ERA of 3.58. In 65 innings Irabu struck out 66 batters while walking just 19. In August, he announced his intention to return to the Japanese professional leagues,[16] and began playing for the semi-professional Kōchi Fighting Dogs.[5]

Later life

On August 20, 2008, Irabu was arrested on the suspicion of assaulting the manager of a bar in Umeda, Osaka. He was upset that his credit card was not accepted in the bar. At the time of the suspected assault, Irabu had consumed at least 20 glasses of beer. Irabu admitted to the assault, the bartender sustained no injuries, and Irabu paid the bill with another credit card.[17]

Irabu was arrested for DUI on May 17, 2010, in Redondo Beach, California.[18] The press release of his arrest stated he resided at the time in Rancho Palos Verdes.[19]

Irabu was found dead in his home in Los Angeles on July 27, 2011. He was reported to have hanged himself.[3][20] He left behind his wife and two children.[21] Irabu's autopsy showed he was inebriated at the time of his death with both alcohol and Ativan in his system. He was reportedly despondent because his wife had taken their two daughters and left him.[22]

References
  1. Pinstripe Pride by Marty Appel
  2. Remembering Hideki Irabu: Japanese MLB Pitcher and Link to Donnie Moore | MLB reports
  3. Reiter, Ben. "The Complicated Life and Death of Hideki Irabu". SI.com. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  4. Curry, Jack (July 15, 1997). "Stepfather Says Irabu Is the Son of an American". The New York Times.
  5. Associated Press, "Irabu dead in apparent suicide", Japan Times, 30 July 2011, p. 1.
  6. Rest in peace, Hideki Irabu - Chuck Miller
  7. Whiting, Robert, "Irabu's impact on MLB-NPB relations profound", Japan Times, 16 October 2011, p. 16.
  8. Hideki Irabu - Japanese stats - JapaneseBallPlayers
  9. Kurkjian, Tim (December 15, 2006). "Posting process needs to be altered". ESPN. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  10. Hideki Irabu, 42, found dead in Los Angeles home | River Avenue Blues
  11. Whiting, Robert, "Attitude, lifestyle contributed to Irabu's demise", Japan Times, 23 October 2011.
  12. "Hideki Irabu gave New York Yankees fans a Stadium night to remember – ESPN New York". Sports.espn.go.com. 1997-07-10. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  13. http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/steinbrenner.html
  14. Merron, Jeff. "The List: Steinbrenner's worst". ESPN. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  15. Hideki Irabu Stats ESPN
  16. "Baseball pitcher Hideki Irabu dies, aged 42". BBC News. July 28, 2011.
  17. Yuasa, Shino (August 20, 2008). "Ex-Yankee Irabu arrested for alleged assault". Fox News. Associated Press.
  18. "Hideki Irabu: Former New York Yankees Pitcher Hideki Irabu Arrested on Suspicion of Drunken Driving". ktla.com. May 25, 2010. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  19. Whiting, Robert, "Irabu spent final days lost, without purpose", Japan Times, 30 October 2011, p. 16.
  20. Ex-Yankee Pitcher Hideki Irabu -- Suicide By Hanging Suspected | TMZ.com
  21. Fortuna, Matt. "Yankees have fond memories of Irabu". MLB.com. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  22. Gallagher, Jack. "Coroner's Office says Irabu intoxicated at time of death". Japan Times, 16 October 2011, p. 16. Retrieved 2012-07-27.
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