Masafumi Hirai

Masafumi Hirai is the kind of pitcher who makes you rethink what a career even means. The guy from Uwajima, Ehime — not exactly a hotbed of baseball glamour — debuts with Orix Blue Wave in 1994 and by his second season he's already collecting a Rookie of the Year and a Best Relief Pitcher award in the same breath. Then comes the elbow trouble, the years of grinding back, and rather than fading out quietly he lands at Chunichi and earns a Comeback Award in 2003, which is almost poetic. Twenty-one seasons total, a Japan Series ring in 2007, and 569 career appearances — that's not a highlight reel, that's a life's work. I genuinely respect any athlete who refuses to let one injury write their ending, and Hirai did it so thoroughly he became a pitching coach afterward. Ehime raised him tough.

Masafumi Hirai is a Japanese professional baseball player born on April 21, 1975, in Uwajima City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. He stands 183 cm tall. Further details of his career, agency affiliation, and personal life are not publicly disclosed.

Name (English)

Masafumi Hirai

Name (Japanese)

平井正史

Reading

ひらい まさふみ

Born

April 21, 1975 (age 51)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Taurus / Rabbit (卯)

Origin

Uwajima City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan

Blood type

Private

Height

183 cm

Agency

Private

Active years

Unknown

Occupation

Professional Baseball Player

Elementary school

Private

Junior high

Private

High school

Private

University

Private

Debut

Unknown

Spouse

Private

Children

Private

Parents

Private

Siblings

Private

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B9%B3%E4%BA%95%E6%AD%A3%E5%8F%B2

Tags

• From Ehime Prefecture
• Professional Baseball Player

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.