is a former professional baseball player in Japan, having played in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league for 23 seasons. He retired following the 2008 season.

Biography

Kazuhiro Kiyohara became a household name in Japan as a home run hitter for the Osaka PL Gakuen high school baseball team in the mid-1980s. His team won two Japan High School baseball championships, finished second twice, and was fourth on one occasion. (There are spring and summer national high school baseball tournaments annually in Japan, held at the famous Koshien Stadium

Koshien Stadium

is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on April 1, 1924. It was the largest stadium in Asia at the time it was completed, with a capacity of 55,000.The name Kōshien comes...

.)

Kiyohara was one part of a dominant duo on his high school team with his teammate, pitcher Masumi Kuwata

Masumi Kuwata

Masumi Kuwata is a former Japanese right-handed pitcher. He was formerly with the Yomiuri Giants of the Central League. He pitched 21 seasons with the Giants, beginning in 1986. In December 2006 Masumi signed a minor league deal with the Pirates...

. They became known in the popular vernacular of the time as the "K-K Combi", which stood for the Kiyohara and Kuwata combination. They were widely respected as high school players, and their individual and team accomplishments became memorable parts of the history of schoolboy baseball in Japan.

Kiyohara was selected by the Seibu Lions

Seibu Lions

The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based west of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Prince Hotels, which in turn is owned by the Seibu Group...

 with their first pick of the 1985 draft. This was reportedly a huge disappointment for him because the Yomiuri Giants

Yomiuri Giants

The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the...

, the most popular NPB team of the day, had promised to choose him in the draft. However, the Giants decided to take Masumi Kuwata with their initial pick in '85, instead of Kiyohara, which made for great theater in the Japanese mass media at the time.

His rookie season with the Seibu Lions produced a .304 average with 31 Home Runs and 78 RBIs. He tied the rookie HR record for Japanese professional baseball, and all three previously mentioned statistics were the best totals for a rookie in his first professional season out of high school. He became a top cleanup hitter for the Lions in his eleven seasons with the club, accumulating 332 HRs and 915 RBIs. During his time in a Lions uniform, the team won six Japan Series titles.

Kiyohara qualified for free agency after the 1996 season and signed with the Yomiuri Giants

Yomiuri Giants

The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the...

, fulfilling a childhood dream. With the Giants, Kiyohara had some outstanding seasons playing alongside many star players, including future major leaguer Hideki Matsui. Kiyohara suited up for the Giants through the 2005 season(one in which he collected his 500th home run and 2,000th hit), and was an integral part of their 2000 and 2002 Japan Series championship squads.

An aging Kiyohara moved from the Giants to the Orix Buffaloes for the final three seasons of his career, calling it quits at the end of the 2008 campaign. He appeared in only 89 games for the Buffaloes, citing various physical ailments for his inactivity.

Despite his many accomplishments, Kiyohara could not escape heavy criticism during the final ten seasons of his career due to a long list of injuries that forced him to miss considerable chunks of almost every season. From 1999-2008, he played in 100 or more games only twice (2001 and 2003), while being paid the equivalent of multi-million dollar salaries each year.

The Uncrowned King

Kiyohara is often referred as "The Uncrowned King" because he never won a major batting title, even though he was one of NPB's greatest hitters. He surpassed 2,000 hits, 500 home runs, and 1,500 RBIs, which has been accomplished by only five other legendary players (Sadaharu Oh

Sadaharu Oh

Sadaharu Oh, or Wang Chenchih , is a retired Japanese-Taiwanese baseball player and manager. He batted and threw left-handed and primarily played first base. Oh, who was born in Sumida, Tokyo the son of a Taiwanese father and a Japanese mother, had originally signed with the powerhouse Yomiuri...

, Katsuya Nomura

Katsuya Nomura

was one of Nippon Professional Baseball's greatest players as a catcher and was also a long-time manager for the Yakult Swallows, the Hanshin Tigers, and the Rakuten Golden Eagles of NPB's Pacific League.-Career:...

, Hiromitsu Kadota

Hiromitsu Kadota

was a Japanese professional baseball player for the Nankai Hawks, Orix Braves and Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. Reputed for his slugging ability, he ate a lot and became a strong hitter, though he is suffered from diabetes mellitus even now. He hit 44 home runs at the age of 40 in 1988. He was retired after...

, Isao Harimoto

Isao Harimoto

Isao Harimoto is a Korean former Nippon Professional Baseball player and holder of the record for most hits in the Japanese professional leagues. An ethnic Korean, his birth name is Jang Hun...

 and Hiromitsu Ochiai

Hiromitsu Ochiai

Hiromitsu Ochiai is a former Japanese professional baseball player. He is currently manager of the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball...

).

Career Record

• .272 Batting Average
• 2,118 Hits (22nd)
• 525 Home runs (5th)
• 1,530 RBIs (6th)
• 1,280 Runs (9th)
• 1,346 Ball on bases(3rd)
• 1,955 Strikeouts (1st)
• 196 Hit by pitch (1st)

Trivia

• He holds the national record of 20 walk-off hits, 12 home runs, and 2 grand slam home runs.
• He holds many home run records in Koshien Baseball tournament
  High school baseball in Japan
  In Japan, high school baseball generally refers to the two annual baseball tournaments played by high schools nationwide culminating at a final showdown at Hanshin Kōshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Japan...
  
  .
  • National High School Baseball Championship
    National High School Baseball Championship
    The National High School Baseball Championship of Japan, commonly known as "Summer Kōshien" , is an annual nationwide high school baseball tournament...
    
     (Summer Koshien)
    • 5 home runs in single tournament (1985)
    • 3 home runs in single game (1984)
    • Home runs in consecutive games (3 games) (1985)

• • National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament
    National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament
    The National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament of Japan, commonly known as "Spring Kōshien" or "Senbatsu" , is an annual high school baseball tournament....
    
     (Spring Koshien)
    • 3 home runs in single tournament (1984)
    • 2 home runs in single game (1984)

• • Total home runs in Koshien Baseball tournaments
    High school baseball in Japan
    In Japan, high school baseball generally refers to the two annual baseball tournaments played by high schools nationwide culminating at a final showdown at Hanshin Kōshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Japan...
    
    
    • 13 home runs (1983–1985)

External links