Mitsuo Yoshikawa

Mitsuo Yoshikawa (吉川 光夫)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.

• High School Koryo High School

• Born April 6, 1988 in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Mitsuo Yoshikawa was a pitcher in Nippon Pro Baseball, winning the MVP once.

Yoshikawa was a first-round pick of the Nippon Ham Fighters out of high school in the 2006 NPB draft. He went 4-3 with a 3.66 ERA in 2007, with 46 walks in 93 1/3 innings. In the 2007 Japan Series, the 19-year-old relieved Ryan Glynn in game two but walked two batters following three free passes issued by Glynn to set a Japan Series record for one team in one inning. Two games later, manager Trey Hillman gave Yoshikawa the ball, only the 5th rookie out of high school to start a Japan Series game and the first since Kazuhisa Ishii. Yoshikawa again struggled with his control, taking the loss to the Chunichi Dragons (who would win the Series). Overall, he allowed seven walks, three hits and three runs (two earned) in six innings in the Series. Yoshikawa fell to 2-4, 6.23 in his seven starts in 2008, walking 22 in 34 2/3 innings. #34 was 0-2 with a 6.61 ERA and 10 walks in 16 1/3 innings in 2009 and 0-4 with a 6.92 ERA and .330 opponent average in 2010. He was 0-5 with a 4.74 ERA in 2011 to bring his career record to 6-18.

The Fukuoka native then turned things around in a big way in 2012, going 14-5 with a 1.71 ERA. He was among the Pacific League leaders in wins (2nd, 3 behind Tadashi Settsu), ERA (1st by .16 over Masahiro Tanaka), complete games (tied for 3rd with 5, even with Yoshihisa Naruse and Hiroshi Kisanuki), shutouts (3, tied for first with Kenji Otonari and Tanaka), innings (173 2/3, 7th, between Otonari and Tanaka), walks (45, 6th between Otonari and Ishii), strikeouts (158, 2nd, 11 behind Tanaka) and WHIP (0.88, 1st, .08 ahead of runner-up Takayuki Kishi). He was voted into the 2012 NPB All-Star Game, and he allowed a 2-run homer to Hayato Sakamoto in Game 2.In the 2012 Japan Series, he did not fare as well, giving up 9 runs on 13 hits in 6 2/3 IP and losing games 1 and 5 as the Fighters fell to the Yomiuri Giants. He did win the Best Nine as the PL's top pitcher and also easily took home the 2012 Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award, with 181 first-place votes out of 210. He lost out the Sawamura Award to Settsu, who was a distant second place in the MVP voting. He also won the Most Valuable Battery Award with Shinya Tsuruoka.

Yoshikawa slumped to 7-15 with a 3.31 ERA in 2013, and he led the league in losses. He went 3-4 with a 4.88 ERA in 2014, and he bounced back in 2015 as he had a 11-8 record with a 3.84 ERA. He was the starter of the 2015 NPB All-Star Game 2, and he completed 2 shutout innings with three strikeouts (against Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, Takahiro Arai and Takayuki Kajitani). Yoshikawa was 5th in wins (tied with Ken Togame, and he led the league with 11 hit-by-pitches. He notched 3 saves with a 7-6 record in 27 appearances in 2016, and the Fighters traded him with Shingo Ishikawa to the Yomiuri Giants for Taishi Ota and Katsuhiko Kumon. Yoshikawa was 1-3 with a 5.87 ERA in 2017, then he was 6-7 with a 4.26 ERA in 2018. He allowed 7 runs in 6 1/3 innings in 2019, and the Giants sent him back with Shingo Usami to the Fighters for Yohei Kagiya and Takahiro Fujioka. Yoshikawa's ERA was 3.38 in 5 games in 2020, and he was traded to the Seibu Lions for cash. He allowed 8 runs in 4 1/3 innings in 2021, and the Lions released him.

Overall, Yoshikawa was 55-70 with a 3.96 ERA, struck out 745 and pitched 1,049 2/3 innings in 15 seasons in NPB. With an overhand delivery, Yoshikawa threw a slider, curveball, and a fastball (tops out at 94 mph).

Sources

• Japan Baseball Daily by Gary Garland
• Yakyu Baka
• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• Wiki Japan