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Former Tigers' pitcher Shigeru Kobayashi dies at 57

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Former Tigers' pitcher Shigeru Kobayashi dies at 57
From The Japan Times:
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters pitching coach Shigeru Kobayashi died of heart failure at a hospital in Fukui on Sunday, the club said. He was 57.

The sidearm right-hander had a 139-95 record with 17 saves and a 3.18 ERA in his 11-year career through 1983.
Question: Kobayashi stopped playing after the 1983 season at age 31. He had a 13-14 record, pitched 209 inning that season. Why did he stop his career that young?
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Re: Former Tigers' pitcher Shigeru Kobayashi dies at 57
[ Author: Deanna | Posted: Jan 19, 2010 6:30 PM | NIP Fan ]

I feel terrible because this guy was a pitching coach with the Fighters ni-gun team all last year and I barely ever really paid much attention to him at all, despite that I saw him around Kamagaya plenty. He wasn't quite as gregarious with the post-game crew as some of the coaches who had been around a bit longer, basically. I guess maybe with a career like his (being the other half of the trade in the Egawa affair and winning two Sawamuras), he felt a little more reserved around crazy fans?

Anyway, according to Wikipedia, after he only had 11 wins in 1982, he said "If I can't get 15 wins next year, I'm gonna quit", and well, he went 13-14 in 1983, and true to his word, he quit.
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