 Only
the Tokyo Tower elevator let more people down than Giants
first-baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara did in 1997. The Pacific League all-star joined
the Giants that year with big expectations. In his eleven
years with the Seibu Lions, Kiyohara banged 329 home runs
with 915 RBIs. Typical of power hitters, he's relatively
slow and his career .274 average is not that great. In
the past few years, Mr. Sideburns has been hovering
around .250. While occasionally sidelined with aches and
pains, Kiyohara played in over 95% of Seibu's games.
Generally consistent, the former Lions first baseman can
be expected to hit at least twenty-five home runs and 75
RBIs a season.
And
that's essentially what the Giants got from him in 1997.
Batting .249, Kiyohara slugged 32 home runs and tallied
95 RBIs. So why all the complaints?  The biggest reason, of course, is that the
Giants finished last in 1997. Since expectations were
highest for Kiyohara, naturally fans were disappointed by
his "average" season. Moreover, by the 1997
All-Star break, the former Seibu slugger was only batting
around .220.
Joining
the Giants, he had signed one of the fattest contracts in
Japanese baseball history. People wanted their money's
worth, and by July 1997 when he failed to lead the team
beyond last place, he got the lions share of the blame.
There were complaints that he only seemed to hit home
runs during games that either Giants went on to lose or
which didn't matter -- like during the second 1997
All-Star game.
Shortly
after his all-star appearance, Kiyohara was skewered in
the Daily Yomiuri, part of the media
conglomerate that owns the Giants, for his disappointing
performance in regular season games. Under the July 28,
1997 headline Giants, Kiyohara begin 2nd half with
loss, and beside a picture of Kiyohara striking out
(caption: "Kiyohara fails to deliver..."), read
a scathing story about the Kyojin's 12-2 loss the night
before.
"After
watching high-priced free-agent Kazuhiro Kiyohara shine
in the second all star game, the Giants fans had high
expectations . . . Unfortunately for the fans, Kiyohara
couldn't play up to the all-star level he showed [a week
earlier] . . . Kiyohara had one meaningless hit in four
at-bats and failed to produce with runners in
position."
No
other Giants players were mentioned in the article, not
even the pitchers who gave up twelve runs. Kiyohara alone
carried the blame for the loss and the losing season.
But
such an assessment is simply unfair and inaccurate. True,
the Giants first baseman got off to a slow start, but he
had a good August, and his final numbers are well within
the range of normal for him.
If
fans were disappointed, it was their fault for believing
the hype about Kiyohara being the second coming
of Shigeo Nagashima. Before the season, there was even
some talk about un-retiring Nagashima's number 3 (the
same number Kiyohara wore for the Lions) so the former
Seibu slugger could wear it.
There
was, of course, also the hyped side story about the
reunion between Kiyohara and his high-school buddy Masumi
Kuwata. When the Giants picked Kuwata in the 1986 draft,
Kiyohara reportedly cried. Thus, when he became a
free-agent in 1996, the slugger quickly left the Lions
and joined Yomiuri.
Before
the final out of the 1987 Japan Series, with the Lions
poised to win, the game had to be stopped because
Kiyohara was weeping so heavily. Despite his team winning
the championship, the Lions first baseman was crushed
because his beloved Giants, the team he had always wanted
to join, were about to lose. Such immature and pathetic
behavior has been one of the slugger's most consistent
traits.
After
becoming a free agent in late 1996, Kiyohara made
everyone wait for his inevitable decision. The Giants had
made clear that if he joined, he would be their regular
first baseman. That was news to the man who had just led
the Giants to the Japan Series, first baseman Hiromitsu
Ochiai -- who, with a lifetime .315 average and 505 home
runs, is Japan's only three-time triple crown winner.
Though forty-three at the time, Ochiai had just hit 21
home runs and 86 RBIs with a .301 average for the Giants.
While
weighing lucrative offers (from the Tigers and Giants),
Kiyohara made Ochiai wait in limbo. Gracefully, the elder
first baseman asked to be released if the Giants signed
the Seibu slugger so Manager Nagashima would not have to
choose between playing the two men. But, Ochiai added, he
just wished Kiyohara would make up his mind more quickly.
With that exit, the triple-crown winner earned a great
deal of sympathy while the Seibu Hamlet appeared
inconsiderate.
Such
lack of poise seems as consistent as Kiyohara's batting.
Some fans complain that he's rude to autograph seekers.
On the field, Kiyohara has also angered fans, but not
only because of his supposed poor batting and habit of
stranding runners in scoring position. In late July,
1997, he criticized Giants fans for only cheering for him
when he hits a home runs: "That's not good."
However,
the reason the oendan (official cheering
section) had stopped cheering for Kiyohara is because,
after he had gotten hits and the cheerleaders had led a
triple-banzai for him, he had failed to either bow or tip
his hat to the fans (as is the custom). Still a weeping,
whining child who has never grown up, Kiyohara has indeed
found a home with the Giants.
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