2 TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2017 www.rafu.com SPORTS A Bulldog for All TimeTime Fresno State Baseball retires the jersey of Satoshi “Fibber” Hirayama. FRESNO.–Fresno State Baseball fense, defense, and special teams star sawsaw itsits 11th11th jerseyjersey inductioninduction inin for the Bulldog football team. On the program history on April 30 at Pete baseball diamond, despite saying he Beiden Field, Bob Bennett Stadium, only came out for baseball to avoid as former Bulldog Satoshi “Fibber” having to participate in spring foot- Hirayama’Hirayama’ss No. 3 jersey was retired ball, he became a record-breaker in in a pre-game ceremony before the program history. BBulldogsulldogs tooktook onon SanSan Beiden’s 1951 Jose State. Bulldogs produced Honored previ- the greatest winning ouslyously tthishis sseasoneason oonn percentage in pro- a “Night“Night toto Remem-Remem- gram history, finish- bber,”er,” whichwhich markedmarked thethe ing the season 36-4, 775th5th aanniversarynniversary ooff a with three of those ppresidentialresidential decreedecree thatthat losses coming against lleded ttoo tthehe WWorldorld WWarar professional compe- Fresno State Bulldogs III-eraI-era incarcerationincarceration tition, as Hirayama Hirayama speaks at his jersey retirement ceremony on April 30. ooff 120,000120,000 JapaneseJapanese stole a then-school AAmericans,mericans, iinclud-nclud- record 36 bases as iingng HirayamaHirayama alongalong nobody would surpass low Bulldog Hall of Famer Truman The Bulldogs won the series fi nale wwithith fformerormer BBulldogulldog him until future major “Tex” Clevenger, a teammate for a against San Jose State, 16-8, giving Kenichi Zenimura, the Fresno State Yearbook Collection leaguer Tom Goodwin pair of seasons (1951-52) and later head coach Mike Batesole his 500th former Bulldog legend Hirayama also starred on in 1987. a pitcher for the Red Sox, Sena- career win at Fresno State. He joins was recognized for his the Bulldog football team. Hirayama, who tors, Angels and Yankees. Although Beiden and Bennett in the 500-win mmanyany ccontributionsontributions ttoo turned 87 in February, Clevenger suffers from late-onset club at Fresno State as the Bulldog the Fresno State baseball program. recorded fi ve stolen bases in a single Alzheimer’s, Hirayama continues to baseball program becomes only the Often referred to as the greatest game in 1951, a mark that still stands visit him every week at a senior care fi fth Division I program with three pound-for-poundpound-for-pound athleteathlete inin FresnoFresno today. His exploits with the glove and home in Visalia. head coaches with 500-plus wins at SStatetate hhistory,istory, aatt jjustust 55-foot-3-foot-3 aandnd 140140 a surprisingly strong throwing arm At the game, there was a giveaway their school. ppounds,ounds, HirayamaHirayama wwasas a ddynamicynamic oof-f- also helped make him a fan favorite. of Bulldogs jerseys with “Fibber” For more information on the Bull- The 1951 Bulldogs had been left and his number on the back. dogs, visit www.gobulldogs.com. out of college baseball’s postsea- son, despite that gaudy record, but as a senior in 1952, Hirayama led Fresno State to its fi rst NCAA bid. He fi nished his Bulldog career with 71 steals, a record that lasted nearly 40 years before being broken by Goodwin. “It’s really a thrill, it really is,” said Hirayama on having his number retired. “I never thought it would happen. It was the last thing in my mind, that my number would ever be retired.” The Exeter native, who went on to play professional baseball in Japan with the Hiroshima Carp and was a two-time All Star there, was over- joyed by receiving this honor. “I look at these people I have here today and they are the ones that deserve to be standing here today where I am at,” said Hirayama. “They are good friends and just wonderful people and all the people in Fresno, Exeter and everywhere I played ball Photo courtesy Teresa Zenimura were just so wonderful to me and I The Hirayama clan, including grandkids, attended the ceremony. thank them for that. I want to thank my family for being here and I want to honor these people right here be- side me, because they are the ones who should be standing here.” Hirayama is the first Bulldog player to have his number retired since Dick Ruthven and Goodwin had their Nos. 17 and 1, respectively, retired in 2008. Hirayama, along with his former teammate and Bulldog Baseball Hall of Famer Jake Ab- bott and Voice of the Bulldogs Paul Loeffl er, were all a part of Sunday’s ceremony. Bulldog Baseball Hall of Famer Jack Hannah sang the national anthem and Hirayama delivered the Nisei Baseball Research Project fi rst pitch. Hirayama was a member of the Hiroshima Carp in 1955 when his team Hirayama remains close with fel- played manager Casey Stengel’s New York Yankees in Japan. MAJOR LEAGUES Darvish Goes 7 Strong as Rangers Win in Extra Innings Maeda gets no-decision hander, who spent six sea- the game was his grow- sons with the Yakult Swal- ing mastery of the cut in San Diego; Yankees lows of Japan’s Central fastball. option Higashioka League before making his “It wasn’t satisfactory back to minors. major league debut last pitching, because I failed season with Texas, threw to go six innings and I was KYODO NEWS / RAFU REPORTS three scoreless innings for pulled after walking the the Rangers to send the leadoff hitter,” said Maeda, SEATTLE.–Yu Darvish allowed a game into the 12th still who also went 1-for-2 at run in seven innings for the Texas tied 1-1. the plate. Rangers in 3-1, 13-inning win over The 5-hour, 2-minute Maeda “My pitching wasn’t the Seattle Mariners on Friday. game fi nally came to a halt that great, but now I’ve Working on fi ve days’ rest after in the 13th. Rougned Odor belted gotten to the point where if I’m in a season-high 125 pitches, Darvish a two-run home run for Texas, and trouble in the count and the catcher allowed a game-tying solo Alex Claudio overcame a puts down the sign, I can throw my homer to Robinson Cano in one-out single in the bot- cutter with confi dence.” the fourth inning. Darvish tom of the inning to earn Also on Friday, the New York surrendered six hits and the save. Yankees optioned backup catcher four walks in total, while In San Diego, Kenta Kyle Higashioka to Triple-A Scran- striking out five. He did Maeda allowed two runs ton/Wilkes-Barre. not fi gure in the decision in five innings, but got Higashioka simply wasn’t getting at Safeco Field. no decision for it done at the plate during “I was walking a tight- the Los Angeles his fi rst stint experience rope from the get-go,” Dar- Dodgers, who in the majors, as reported vish said. “I just couldn’t came back to by CBS Sports. The Hun- get strikes. I always have Darvish beat the San Di- tington Beach native failed issues in Seattle and Oak- ego Padres 8-2 at to record a single hit in land. I’m always pitching (in Texas) Petco Park. his 20 plate appearances. where it’s hot and I think the tem- Maeda struck out eight The Yankees reportedly perature (difference) has something and walked three, while want to see noticeable to do with that.” allowing three hits. He left improvement at the plate Rangers reliever Tony Barnette, the game after 50 pitches, Higashioka at the minor league level who went to high school just outside the last four of them balls to before giving Higashioka Seattle, had little trouble with the Will Meyers leading off the sixth. a chance at rejoining the big-league temperature, however. The right- The one thing he took out of team later this season..