RIP Hideki Irabu

Found dead in his LA apartment. Believed to have hanged himself.

 

I feel bad that the first thing that came to mind was about 100 different jokes...

RIP...

 

He'd had a lot of personal problems in recent years, including a couple of drunken arrests. I hate to think that this stems from his failure in the major leagues, but it probably does.

Here's a link:

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/28/hideki-irabu-found-dead-suicide-suspected/

 

Glad I wasn't the only one ...

 

Oh my God. That's absolutely terrible.

I was almost prepared to make a joke when I saw your headline. Now I feel bad for even thinking like that.

 

Oh, and I now see I wasn't alone.

Still, fuck.

 

You gotta admit, though, "Fat Toad" might have been Steinbrenner's best work.

 

Was once traded for Jake Westbrook, like half of all the guys who ever played Major League Baseball.

 

I believe he was multiracial. Olney said in his book it contributed to a feeling of not belonging.

 

The day after his major-league debut, I was driving somewhere where I couldn't listen to Stern and I was listening to Imus. They were doing what sounded like a professional new report of the game and then they said, "When asked about his performance, Irabu said..."

Then there was a guy with a ridiculous Japanese accent saying, "Oh you no match for me roundeye!!!"

It was horrible. I laughed my ass off.

 

.......when asked if he would consider playing for the Padres upon arriving in America, Irabu replied, "no, no, no" [cross-thread]

 

The pressure this guy must have felt coming over here must have been intense. RIP Hideki