Keisuke Kobayashi
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| Keisuke Kobayashi | |
|---|---|
 Kobayashi with the Orix Buffaloes | |
| Oisix Niigata Albirex – No. 19 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: November 2, 1992 Brussels, Belgium | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| NPB debut | |
| May 13, 2017, for the Orix Buffaloes | |
| NPB statistics (through 2023 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 2–4 |
| Earned run average | 4.13 |
| Strikeouts | 108 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Keisuke Kobayashi (小林 慶祐, Kobayashi, Keisuke; born November 2, 1992) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Oisix Niigata Albirex of the Baseball Challenge League (BCL).[1] He has previously played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Orix Buffaloes and Hanshin Tigers.
Born in Brussels to Japanese parents, his family moved back to their hometown in Sakura, Chiba when Keisuke was 2 after his father's work assignment in Belgium was finished.[2] He started playing little league baseball for Aosuge Elementary School, and continued as a pitcher for Yachiyo Shoin High but his school never made it past the prefectural tournaments.[3]
He enrolled in a business course in Tokyo University of Information Sciences and regularly pitched in the Chiba Prefecture University Baseball League.[4] He became the ace pitcher in his 3rd year and led his team to win the league championships by topping the league in wins (5) and also got awarded Best Nine.[5] They made it to the 2013 National Collegiate Baseball Championship tournament but did not make it past the first round when he allowed 3 runs from the opponent.[6] He also topped the league in wins in his final year with 6.
When he went undrafted after college, he joined Nihon Seimei to play in the industrial leagues. In 2015, he helped his team win their 3rd championship in the Intercity Baseball Tournament and won the MVP award for only giving up 1 run in 4 games and 12 innings.[3]