July 28, 2011

Former Yankee Hideki Irabu Found Dead

By - Kris Fletcher

Hideki Irabu, who was a member of two World Series winning Yankee teams in the late 90's, was found dead yesterday morning at his home in Los Angeles. He was 42.

Photo by: Mark J. Terrill
Los Angeles County coroner's official Ed Winter said his office is investigating Irabu's death as a suicide, revealing no additional circumstances. An autopsy will be performed Friday or Saturday.

"He was a world-class pitcher," said Bobby Valentine, who managed Irabu in Japan in 1995. "When Nolan Ryan saw him, he said he had never seen anything like it. There were just some days when he was as good a pitcher as I had ever seen. A fabulous arm."

Reports are circulating that Irabu's wife left him recently and took their two young daughters with her. That may very well be what pushed him over the edge.

2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 29, 2011 at 9:19 PM

    As a Yankees fan, I was sad to hear of Irabu's passing. Guy had a great arm in his day. May he rest in peace.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kris FletcherJuly 30, 2011 at 1:34 AM

    Yeah, I enjoyed watching him pitch back in the day as well.

    Thanks for the comment.

    ReplyDelete