Akira Ishii

Akira Ishii (石井 晶)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 182 lb.

• High School Adachi High School

• Born November 21, 1939 in Adachi, Tokyo Japan
• Died July 15, 2013

BR register page

Biographical Information

Akira Ishii played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 12 years.

Ishii was signed by the Hankyu Braves in 1960, and he hit .234/.272/.325 in 33 games in his rookie year. He played 95 games with a .256/.301/.354 batting line in 1961, but he then slumped to .188/.253/.388 in 1962. Ishii hit .396 in the minor Western League, and he broke the league record for highest batting average. He was then named the Braves' first baseman in 1963, and he hit .255/.283/.348 with 4 homers.

The Tokyo native had his career year in 1964, hitting .272/.312/.429 with 15 homers. He led the Pacific League in sacrifice flies, ranking 9th in RBI (69, tied with Jack Bloomfield) and 9th in doubles (25, tied with Kihachi Enomoto, Akitoshi Kodama and Shuzo Aono). Ishii was also selected into the 1964 NPB All-Star Games, and he was 0-for-3 in the first two games. He then pinch-hit Enomoto in the 5th inning of Game 3, and he crushed a solo home run off Yoshiaki Ito. Ishii struggled in 1965 as his batting line falling to .241/.275/.290, then he hit .234/.295/.365 with 26 doubles in 1966. He ranked 6th in doubles in 1966, 5 behind Enomoto.

When Daryl Spencer shined in 1967, Ishii's spot was taken so he only had 165 at-bats with a .240/.296/.320 batting line. He was 2-for-5 in the 1967 Nippon Series, but the Yomiuri Giants beat the Braves in 5 games. He then hit .249/.286/.362 and .235/.291/.296 respectively in the next two seasons. In the 1969 Nippon Series, Ishii was 0-for-3 in first two games, then he went 2-for-3 with a solo home run off Akira Takahashi in Game 3. He crushed another home run against Hidetake Watanabe in Game 4, but he was 0-for-4 in Game 5. Ishii then had a 3-for-4 record with his third home run of this series, off Kazumi Takahashi in Game 6, but the Giants still beat the Braves.

He hit .290/.339/.380 in the first half of the 1970 season, but he then suffered from injuries. Ishii recorded a .243/.341/.330 batting line in 1971 and he announced his retirement. He then coached the Braves from 1972 to 1981, the Yakult Swallows from 1982 to 1984 and for the Hanshin Tigers from 1985 to 1994 and from 1997 to 1998.

Overall, Ishii hit .250/.297/.355 with 780 hits and 51 homers in 12 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1964 NPB All Star Game