Katsunori Hirai

I'll be honest, Katsunori Hirai isn't a household name I came in knowing, but the shape of his story is one I'm a complete sucker for. A kid from Ichinomiya in Aichi, born late 1991, working his way up through Hiryu High and Aichi Sangyo University before sticking with baseball into his thirties, that's the unglamorous grind I always root for. At a listed 180cm he's got the frame for it, and there's something about a player who keeps showing up on the field long past the age when most quietly fade out that reads as pure stubborn love for the game. Honestly, give me the diligent late-bloomer over the flashy phenom any day; this is a guy I'd cheer for on vibes alone.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Katsunori Hirai is a Japanese baseball player born on December 20, 1991, in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture. He attended Hiryu High School and went on to graduate from Aichi Sangyo University. Standing 180 cm tall, he has represented the field of professional baseball originating from Aichi.

Name (English)

Katsunori Hirai

Name (Japanese)

平井克典

Reading

ひらい かつのり

Born

December 20, 1991 (age 34)

Origin

Ichinomiya, Aichi, Japan

Height

180cm

Occupation

Baseball player

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Sagittarius / Goat

High school

Hiryu High School

University

Aichi Sangyo University

• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/katsussl25/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B9%B3%E4%BA%95%E5%85%8B%E5%85%B8
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28689631

Tags

• From Aichi Prefecture
• Baseball player

Last updated

September 18, 2026

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.