Akihito Igarashi

Akihito Igarashi (五十嵐章人)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 158 lb.
• High School Maebashi Shogyo High School

• Born April 12, 1968 in Maebashi, Gunma Japan

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Biographical Information

Akihito Igarashi played 13 seasons in Nippon Pro Baseball, from 1991 to 2003. He was a vert versatile player, appearaing at over 100 games at all four infield positions and in the outfield during his career, with first base being his most common one, although only by little. He was mainly a backup player, only topping 300 at-bats once, with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 1996. On June 3, 2000, he became the second player in NPB history, after Hiroshi Takahashi, to play all nine positions in one game, while playing for the Orix Blue Wave.`

A career .234 hitter with little home run power, it was clear that it was his glove and versatility that kept Igarashi in the top level of Japanese baseball for such a long period. He did hit .281 in 1994 and .271 in in his busiest season, but he was normally around or below his career average, including four seasons when he failed to bat .200. His high for homers was 4, but he is one of a small number of players who hit a home run from each of the nine positions in the batting order; his 26 career homers are the lowest total among the six players with that have achieved this. The only times he was in double figures in doubles were the two seasons in which he hit above his career average.

Aside from the game in which he played all position, he had only one other appearance as a catcher (and none as a pitcher); it came in an emergency on May 7, 1995 for Chiba Lotte against Orix: one catcher on the team was down with rubeola, the starting catcher in the game was pinc-hit for, and his replacement was ejected from the game for arguing with an umpire, forcing Akihito to wear the tools of ignorance. Manager Bobby Valentine lauded him after the game for his work under tough circumstances. His pitching appearance was a rarity, as the fashion of using a position player to mop up a lopsided loss has never taken hold in Japan, and the very rare instances when it has ocurred are in the unlikely event a team runs out of available pitchers in a marathon game. Akihito acquited himself well in his game on the mound, allowing one hit but no runs and facing just four batters. Still, the stunt was received with a lot of criticism in the highly conservative environment that is Japanese baseball.

He served as baserunning coach for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks from 2006 to 2011. He also managed in the Japanese independent leagues. He later became a broadcaster.