Iori Sekiguchi

Iori Sekiguchi (関口 伊織)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 162 lbs.

• School Toyo University
• High School Omiya Kogyo High School

• Born October 26, 1971 in Kumagaya, Saitama, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Iori Sekiguchi pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 8 years.

Sekiguchi was drafted by the Yokohama BayStars in the second round of the 1995 NPB draft, and he was 5-6 with a 3.67 ERA in his rookie year. He led the Central League with 68 walks, and he was 9th in appearances (between Chien-Fu Kuo Lee and Yuji Inoue). Sekiguchi then pitched a career-high 60 games with a 3.56 ERA in 1997, and he tied Atsunori Ito, Naoya Shimada and Hiroto Kato for 2nd in appearances. He was 4-5 with a 4.10 ERA in 1998, and he pitched a shutout inning in 1998 Nippon Series Game 3. The BayStars beat the Lions in 6 games, and Sekiguchi won his only Nippon Series title.

However, he suffered from injuries, so he only pitched 3 games combined in the next two seasons. The BayStars then traded him to the Kintetsu Buffaloes for Kento Sugiyama before the 2001 season. Sekiguchi bounced back in 2001, having a 4.33 ERA in 53 games as a LOOGY. In the 2001 Nippon Series, he pitched a shutout inning in Game 1, then surrendered a walk to Atsuya Furuta in Game 2. He then allowed 4 runs in 1 2/3 innings in Game 3, and the Yakult Swallows beat the Buffaloes in 5 games. Sekiguchi had a 4.76 ERA in 12 games in 2002, but he only pitched 8 more games with the big club before he announced his retirement in 2004.

Overall, Sekiguchi was 14-16 with a 3.93 ERA, struck out 300 and pitched 352 1/3 innings in 8 years in NPB.