Takuya Kimura (木村 拓也, Kimura Takuya, April 15, 1972 – April 7, 2010) was a Japanese baseball player for the Yomiuri Giants. He previously played for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp before being traded to the Giants in 2006. He played for the Giants through the 2009 season before retiring as a player, returning to the Giants for 2010 in a coaching capacity.
| Takuya Kimura | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Utility player | |
| Born: April 15, 1972 Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan | |
| Died: April 7, 2010 (aged 37) Hiroshima, Japan | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| Nippon Professional Baseball debut | |
| 1992, for the Nippon-Ham Fighters | |
| Last appearance | |
| 2009, for the Yomiuri Giants | |
| Nippon Professional Baseball statistics (through 2009) | |
| Batting average | .262 |
| Home runs | 53 |
| RBI | 280 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Baseball | ||
 |
2004 Athens | Team Competition |
Kimura was born in Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan. He joined the Nippon-Ham Fighters from outside the amateur draft in 1990 after graduating from high school, and went on to become the leading utility player in Japanese baseball. His solid hitting, speed, and strong arm made him a valuable offensive and defensive player. He played games at every single position except pitcher, catching four games in the 1999 season. He played first base for one game in 1998. He was registered as an outfielder, but played more games in the infield in recent years. In 2004, he was recruited for the Athens Olympics for his skills as a utility player.
He had the same name as Takuya Kimura of the popular Japanese pop group, SMAP. He once made an appearance on the television show SMAP×SMAP, hosted by his namesake.
On April 2, 2010, at Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium preceding a game against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Kimura was hitting practice knocks to infielders when he suddenly collapsed and was rushed to hospital in a coma.[1] He was diagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage and died in Hiroshima, Japan, on April 7, 2010.[2] He died at age 37.
References
edit- ^ "試合前に倒れた巨人・木村拓也コーチはくも膜下出血（産経新聞） - Yahoo!ニュース". Archived from the original on 2010-04-06. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
- ^ 巨人の木村拓也コーチが死去…意識戻らぬまま