Tatsuro Hirooka (広岡 達朗, Hirooka Tatsurō born February 9, 1932) is a Japanese retired professional baseball player and manager.
Tatsuro Hirooka | |
---|---|
![]() Hirooka in 1979 | |
Shortstop / Manager | |
Born: Kure, Hiroshima, Japan | February 9, 1932|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
debut | |
1954, for the Yomiuri Giants | |
Last appearance | |
1966, for the Yomiuri Giants | |
Career statistics | |
Batting average | .240 |
Home runs | 117 |
Hits | 1,081 |
Teams | |
As Player
As Coach
As Manager
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
As player
As manager
|
Hirooka played his entire career, from 1954 to 1966, for the Yomiuri Giants. He was awarded the Central League rookie of the year award in 1954. From 1961 to 1966, Hirooka was a player-coach for the Giants.
As a manager for the Yakult Swallows (1976–1979) and then the Seibu Lions (1982–1985), Hirooka was known for his tough-love style.[1] Nicknamed "The Iron Shogun", he thrice led his teams to the Japan Series championship — in 1978, 1982, and 1983. He won the Matsutaro Shoriki Award — presented to a person (a manager or player) who greatly contributes to the development of professional baseball — in 1978 and 1982.[2]
References
editNotes
edit- ^ Whiting, Robert. You Gotta Have Wa (Vintage Departures, 1989), pp. 74–75.
- ^ https://baseballguru.com/jalbright/analysisjalbright04.html [bare URL]