Junichi Ikeda

Junichi Ikeda (池田 純一)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 187 lbs.

• High School Yashiro Higashi High School

• Born May 15, 1946 in Arao, Kumamoto Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Junichi Ikeda played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 13 years.

Ikeda was signed by the Hanshin Tigers in 1965, but he spent most of his first two seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues, only played 63 games combined. He took the starting center fielder spot in 1967 and hit .234/.264/.360 in 333 at-bats. Ikeda improved to .238/.318/.435 in 1968 but slumped to .181/.241/.256 in 1969. Thus, he only had 190 at-bats in 1970 though he improved to a .250/.298/.494 batting line. He still hit .239/.270/.423 in 1971.

The Kumamoto native improved in 1972. He was selected for the 1972 NPB All-Star Games, and went 0-for-2 in first two games. In Game 3, which was held in Koshien Stadium, Ikeda hit a clutch RBI single against Koji Ota and won the MVP. He ended up hitting .283/.328/.415 and ranked 9th in batting average among the Central League, .046 behind Tsutomu Wakamatsu). He extended his solid performance, hitting .259/.307/.390 in 1973, and attended the 1973 NPB All-Star Games; he was 0-for-5 in 3 games.

However, on August 5, Ikeda made an error that would influence his whole career. The Tigers and the Yomiuri Giants were chasing the CL pennant, and Hanshin had a one-run lead until the 9th inning. It was 2 outs and 2 runners were on base, then their ace Yutaka Enatsu forced Yukinobu Kuroe to hit a fly ball to center field. However, Ikeda stumbled because of the grass, and the ball passed over his head. Two runners scored and the Tigers lost. The Giants ended up just 1/2 game ahead of the Tigers to win their 9th consecutive CL pennant. This error was called "the century passed ball", and Ikeda's career was ruined by it. He hit .251/.293/.392 and .249/.314/.369 respectively in the next two seasons, then announced his retirement after the 1978 season as he only played 73 games combined in 3 seasons.

Overall, Ikeda had hit .241/.291/.380 with 80 homers and 686 hits in 13 seasons in NPB.

Related Sites

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan