MAYOR GIULIANI WELCOMES YANKEES PITCHER
HIDEKI IRABU TO NEW YORK CITY
Irabu Throws First NYC Pitch To Catcher Giuliani In City Hall Park
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today officially welcomed Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu to New York City in ceremonies on the steps of City Hall. Surrounded by Little League ballplayers from around the City, the six-foot-four inch, 240-pound righthander threw his first public pitch in New York City to catcher-for the-day Rudy Giuliani."On behalf of all New Yorkers, I want to welcome Hideki Irabu to New York City, the baseball capital of the world and the home of the World Champion New York Yankees," Mayor Giuliani said. "We also welcome you as an immigrant to our shores, to a City that immigrants made great. We wish you well and only hope you can do for the Yankees what immigrants did for this City and this nation.
"By the way, if you haven't noticed, I'm not only the Mayor of New York City, I'm a Yankee fan," the Mayor told Irabu. "With your help, come this October we hope to repeat the celebration that took place right here on the steps of City Hall to honor the 1996 Yankees World Series victory."
The Mayor presented the newest Yankee with a Tiffany Crystal Apple. Since signing with the Yankees on May 29th, the Japanese-born Irabu has been breaking in with the Yankees minor league teams in Tampa, Florida and Columbus Ohio. Tomorrow night (Thursday) he is scheduled to make his first US major league start against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium.
Helping the Mayor to welcome the new Yankee pitcher were Little League ballplayers from the Joe Torre Little League, Jimmy's Bronx Cafe Little League, Harlem RBI Little League, Sunset Park (Brooklyn) Little League, and the Police Athletic League.
Also taking part in today's welcoming ceremony were Ambassador Seiichiro Otsuka, the Japanese Consul General in New York, Arthur Richmond, Special Advisor with the New York Yankees, Billy Connors, Pitching Coordinator for the New York Yankees, and Kota Ishima and Ichiro Yoshida, Irabu's interpreter and trainer respectively.
Hideki Irabu was born on May 5, 1969 in Hyogo, Japan. He was drafted out of Jinsei High School in 1988 to play baseball for the Lotte Orions before moving up to pitch in the Japanese Major Leagues with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Pacific League. In 1994 Irabu led the Pacific League in wins and strikeouts, in 1995 he led the league in earned run average and strikeouts and in 1996 he again led the league in earned run average and became the third pitcher in Pacific League history to record 1,000 career strikeouts. In January 1997, the San Diego Padres acquired the rights to Irabu and in April the New York Yankees acquired the rights from the Padres to negotiate with Irabu.
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