Photo: 内閣官房内閣広報室 / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Hideki Kuriyama took the strangest possible route to greatness. He studied at Tokyo Gakugei University, had a professional playing career that never turned long or famous, and then spent years as a broadcaster analyzing the game from outside it. Handing such a man the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2012 should not have worked. It worked spectacularly: a Japan Series title and the Shoriki Award in 2016, then the 2023 World Baseball Classic crown with Japan. What I admire is not the trophies but the nerve. When he let a young Shohei Ohtani pitch and hit at once, sensible people said it would break the kid. Kuriyama believed the player over the consensus, and the sport changed.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Hideki Kuriyama
- Name (Japanese)
- 栗山英樹
- Born
- April 26, 1961 (age 65)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Ox
- Origin
- Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
- Height
- 176 cm
- Occupation
- baseball player / journalist / baseball manager
2. Background
- University
- Tokyo Gakugei University
Awards & achievements
- 2016 Matsutaro Shoriki Award
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
- Official sitehttps://www.sponichi.co.jp/kuriyama/
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A0%97%E5%B1%B1%E8%8B%B1%E6%A8%B9
Frequently asked questions
When was Hideki Kuriyama born?
Born April 26, 1961 (age 65).
Where is Hideki Kuriyama from?
Hideki Kuriyama is from Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan.
What does Hideki Kuriyama do?
Hideki Kuriyama works as baseball player, journalist, baseball manager.
How tall is Hideki Kuriyama?
Hideki Kuriyama is 176 cm.
Baseball player — see all → · Journalist — see all → · More people from Japan →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-07-26
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.