Masahiro Kawai

Who is Masahiro Kawai?

Masahiro Kawai was an infielder for 23 years in Nippon Professional Baseball, primarily with the Yomiuri Giants. Known for his defense and bunting, he won several Gold Gloves, made two All-Star teams and set several sacrifice hit records.

Kawai was a pitcher in high school. In 1982, the Giants took him in the first round of the draft. He was moved to the infield and debuted for the Giants in 1984, mostly as a defensive substitute and pinch-hitter, getting only 126 plate appearances over 159 games in his first four years. He got 81 plate appearances at age 23 in 1988, hitting .268/.307/.423.

Masahiro became a regular for the 1989 Giants, batting .254/.312/.361 and won his first Gold Glove as the top defensive shortstop in the Central League. He hit .190/.261/.238 for Yomiuri as they won the 1989 Japan Series. The next season, he set a new Nippon Professional Baseball record with 58 sacrifice hits and put up a good .288/.356/.450 line with career highs in slugging, home runs and steals. He made the first of his two All-Star appearances and won another Gold Glove.