| 12/31/2016 | ||||||
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 | Hawks Kobayashi PL Hitter of the Week Monday, May 16th, 2016 In the twilight of his career, 35-year-old Naohiro Kobayashi of Fukuoka SoftBank recaptured some of the old magic last week and came away with the Pacific League Player of the Week Award. "I've been playing since I was a kid," Kobayashi told reporters, "but you're never too old to feel the thrill of success." Kobayashi outpaced the rest of the league's hitters last week, reeling off 9 hits in 12 at-bats, 2 home runs, and 2 RBIs to stake his claim to the award. This season Kobayashi is swinging the bat at a .391 pace. He has hit 4 home runs and scored 19 times, while driving in 14. His on-base percentage is .609 and he has played in 26 games. |   |
