Chikafusa Ikeda

Chikafusa Ikeda (池田 親興)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 202 lb.

• School Hosei University
• High School Takanabe High School

• Born May 17, 1959 in Miyazaki, Miyazaki Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Chikafusa Ikeda pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Japanese national team.

Ikeda represented Japan in the 1983 Asian Championship. He allowed a walk-off homer to Shih-Chiang Chao in the event. The Hanshin Tigers drafted him in the second round of the 1983 NPB draft. Ikeda joined the rotation as a rookie, started 20 games with a 3.90 ERA and won 9 games. He was named the opening day starter in 1985, and ended up 9-6 with a 4.45 ERA. In the 1985 Nippon Series, he shut out the Seibu Lions in Game 1 with 4 strikeouts and won his first Nippon Series Title in 6 games. He suffered a foot fracture in 1986, and only started 10 games with a 3.18 ERA.

Ikeda struggled after coming back. His ERA was terrible at 6.10 in 1987, and he lost 13 games. He bounced back a little with a 4.01 ERA in 24 starts in 1988, but his ERA rose to 6.71 in 1989. The Tigers then traded him with Eiji Iwakiri, Katsunori Tomari, Hisashi Ono to the Daiei Hawks for Masahiko Migita, Toyotoshi Chikada, Yoshiaki Nishikawa, Hiroyuki Yoshida and Shuji Fujimoto after the 1990 season. Ikeda found his condition again after changing teams and roles, posting a 3.66 ERA in 35 relief outings, and also notching 13 saves. He was named the team's closer before the 1992 season, and collected 14 saves with a 4.10 ERA. However, his ERA rose to 5.63 in the next year, and he surrendered 8 runs in just 3 innings pitched in 1994. He transferred to the Yakult Swallows in 1994, and announced his retirement after he allowed 13 runs in 15 innings in the 1994 season.

Overall, Ikeda was 53-69, notched 30 saves with a 4.58 ERA and pitched 970 2/3 innings in 12 seasons in NPB.