Takehiro Ishii

From BR Bullpen

Takehiro Ishii (石井 丈裕)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 1", Weight 195 lbs.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Takehiro Ishii pitched in the Nippon Pro Baseball and Taiwan Major League for 13 years combined.

Ishii represented Japan in the 1986 Baseball World Cup, 1988 Olympics and 1988 Baseball World Cup. He led all pitchers in the 1988 Cup in strikeouts (32 in 27 1/3 IP), beating out the likes of Andy Benes, Ben McDonald, Charles Nagy, Jim Abbott, Hideo Nomo and Orlando Hernandez. Ishii went 3-0 with a save and a 0.99 ERA. He allowed only 2 walks and 15 hits. He joined Abbott as the tourney's All-Star pitchers. He tried to save the semifinals after Nomo faltered in the 8th but allowed a single, triple and a balk without retiring anyone in the loss to Cuba that eliminated Japan. In the 1988 Olympics, he was 2-1 with a 1.90 ERA, good for 6th in ERA behind James Figueroa, McDonald, Tetsuya Shiozaki, Jesus Feliciano and Parris Mitchell.

The Seibu Lions selected him in the second round of the 1988 NPB draft, and he notched 3 saves with a 4-4 record and a 4.33 ERA in 33 appearances in his rookie year. He joined the rotation in 1990, and he went 8-6 with a 3.38 ERA. Ishii also attended the 1990 NPB All-Star Game, and he pitched a shutout inning with a strikeout against the Central League's Hiromitsu Ochiai in Game 2. He was 6th in ERA in the Pacific League, between Tomio Watanabe and Mitsujiro Sakai. Ishii then suffered from a back injury in 1991, so he only went 7-5 with a 3.26 ERA. He relieved Taigen Kaku in the 1991 Nippon Series Game 6, and he pitched 4 shutout innings to get the win over Akihito Kaneishi. The Lions beat the Hiroshima Carp in 7 games, and Ishii won his second title (he was on the roster for the 1990 Nippon Series, but he didn't appear).

Ishii was even more dominant in 1992, and he was selected into the 1992 NPB All-Star Game. He relieved starter Yukinaga Maeda in the 3rd inning of Game 2, and he allowed 2 runs, which included a solo shot to Atsuya Furuta, in 3 innings. He ended up 15-3 with a 1.94 ERA, and he led the league with .833 winning percentage. He was 2nd in ERA (.14 behind Motoyuki Akahori), 2nd in wins (3 behind Hideo Nomo) and 9th in strikeouts (tied with Katsuyoshi Murata and Yasumitsu Shibata). He also won the Sawamura Award, but his 148 1/3 innings pitched were the least for a Sawamura Award winner. In the 1992 Nippon Series, he completed the Game 3 with only a run allowed to outduel Kazuhisa Ishii of the Yakult Swallows, and he was named the starter of Game 7. Ishii pitched 10 innings with 9 strikeouts and an unearned run, and he got the win over Yoichi Okabayashi thanks to Koji Akiyama's game-winning sacrifice fly; he was named the series MVP. Ishii was voted as the PL MVP with 523 points in the voting, and he also won the Best Nine and the Most Valuable Battery Award (along with Tsutomu Ito).

The Tokyo native couldn't extend his superstar performance in 1993, and he was 12-10 with a 3.19 ERA while leading the league with 25 homers allowed and 4 shutouts. He was 7th in ERA (between Hideki Irabu and Katsuyoshi Murata), 7th in strikeouts (between Kazumi Sonokawa and Yukihiro Nishizaki) and 5th in wins (tied with Satoru Komiyama and Shigetoshi Hasegawa). In the 1993 Nippon Series, Ishii allowed one run in 4 innings in Game 4, and Kenjiro Kawasaki got the win over him with 6 shutout innings. He then pitched a shutout inning in Game 7, but the Swallows still beat the Lions. He got one point in the MVP Voting. Ishii was used as a swingman in 1994, and he went 6-6 with 4 saves in 27 appearances. He pitched a shutout inning in 1994 Nippon Series Game 2, then he allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings and got the loss in Game 3. Ishii relieved Kento Sugiyama in the 9th inning of Game 4, and he pitched 3 1/3 shutout innings to get the win over Masao Kida. In Game 6, Ishii allowed a solo shot to Henry Cotto in 2 innings, and the Yomiuri Giants beat the Lions.

Ishii was turned into a full-time starter again in 1995, and he went 10-6 with a 2.73 ERA. He only pitched 5 games in 1996 due to a right foot injury, and he had a 4-5 record with a 3.45 ERA in 1997. He allowed 3 runs (0 earned) in 2 innings in the 1997 Nippon Series Game 3, and the Swallows beat the Lions in 5 games. Ishii was then traded with Hiroshi Narahara to the Nippon Ham Fighters for Yukihiro Nishizaki, and he struggled as he went 2-5 with a 6.22 ERA in 1998. His ERA was 5.76 in 20 games in 1999, then the Fighters released him. Ishii went to the Taipei Gida of Taiwan in 2000, and he dominated the league. He was 16-5 with a 1.74 ERA, leading the league in ERA and wins, and he also won the TML MVP award and Best Ten. Ishii was 9-5 with a 3.10 ERA in 2001, and he announced his retirement then became the manager of the Gida. He led the Gida to a 31-39 record in 2002, and he left Taiwan after the two leagues merged. Ishii then coached the Lions from 2004 to 2011, and he was their pitching coach in 2014.

Overall, Ishii was 68-52 with a 3.31 ERA, struck out 755 and pitched 1,093 innings in 11 seasons in NPB.

Related Sites[edit]

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