RIP: Hideki Irabu

[bronx_burner]

The man may have not been what the Yankees had been hoping for when they brought him over, but its very sad to see the man's life come to an end this way. RIP Hideki Irabu.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/28/hideki-irabu-found-dead-suicide-suspected/

[freddiefreeman5]

I had forgotten about Steinbrenner calling him a fat toad.


I had a boss call me a name one time. I cleaned off his desk with a swipe of my arm, dared him to say it again, and walked out (quit).
We are good friends now. :)

[camarokids]

Here is another story on him. A good read....

http://www.slate.com/id/2300602/

Can things really be so bad he had to kill himself? Too bad....

[camarokids]

I guess his wife and kids leaving him was the final blow, two months after they left he killed himself......

[MSpecht]

Here is a quick Hideki Irabu story:

The New York Yankees were set to open the 1998 Major League season in Anaheim. A day or so prior to the opener, however, they agreed to head south and play a fund-raiser at Tony Gwynn Stadium against the San Diego State Aztecs to benefit the SDSU baseball program. As luck would have it, Hideki Irabu started the game for the Yankees. Now remember, the San Diego Padres had purchased Irabu's contract from Japan in 1997, but he refused to play for the Padres, (or any team except the Yankees.) As a result, most San Diego baseball fans already just hated Irabu, and the sold-out crowd that day at San Diego State was ready to give it to him. The boos and catcalls started during pre-game introductions, got louder as he took the mound, and continued throughout the game.

Irabu went something like 4 innings or so, then was finished. However, he did not stay in the dugout or the locker room. Instead, after leaving the game, he 'walked the fence' between the Yankee dugout and the outfield foul pole, signing probably hundreds of autographs for fans. As the crowd caught on to what he was doing, he began to get cheers from the sections he was at, and eventually most of the stadium. Eventually he made his way back to the Yankee dugout, waved his hat to the crowd, and received one of the loudest ovations of the day.

The other highlight of the game was a home run that Darryl Strawberry hit out of the stadium over the center field wall that almost bounced off a dorm building --- must have gone 550 feet or more.

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/31/sports/baseball-irabu-wins-but-many-questions-remain.htm (http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/31/sports/baseball-irabu-wins-but-many-questions-remain.htm)


Mike jackitout7@aol.com (jackitout7@aol.com)