Daiei Hawks pitcher Masao Fujii died at a Fukuoka hospital Friday. He was 31, three days short of his 32nd birthday. Fujii had been hospitalized at the National Kyushu Medical Center for interstitial pneumonia.
Fujii fell ill after last season and missed this year's spring camp. He pitched for Daiei's farm team for a while this season.
The National Kyushu Medical Center is a designated medical facility for the treatment of AIDS. There was no announcement of the cause of death.