He is currently an outfield defense and baserunning coach for the Dragons.
Career
Hirata attended Osaka Tōin High School and was a member of the team that advanced to the semi-finals of the 2005 national championships. and tied Kazuhiro Kiyohara's record of 5 home runs at the tournament. He hit a total of 70 home runs during his three years of high school. He was drafted by the Dragons in the first round of the 2005 rookie draft.[1]
In 2015, Hirata was made team captain of the Dragons marking the first time the Dragons had an appointed captain since Tōru Nimura in 1994.[2]
^"2005年 中日ドラゴンズ" [2005 Chunichi Dragons] (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 November 2015.
^"中日平田が来季主将「谷繁監督を胴上げする」" [Chuinichi's Hirata to be next season's captain "I want to lift up Tanishige-kantoku in victory"]. 2015-11-26 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-09-25.