Koichi Sekikawa

Koichi Sekikawa

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 163 lb.

• Born April 1, 1969 in Tokyo Japan

Koichi Sekikawa was a member of the Silver Medal-winning Japanese national team in the 1990 Goodwill Games. He was the number two draft pick of the Hanshin Tigers in 1991. After two straight .300 seasons as a part-timer, he went to the Chunichi Dragons in 1998 and was switched from being a catcher/outfielder to a full-time outfielder. In 1999 he had his best season, batting .330/.383/.429 and finishing second to Bobby Rose in the Central League batting race - the Dragons won the CL pennant that year. Sekikawa was third in the league with 172 hits and tied for second with 6 triples. He made the Best Nine that year in the Central. Sekikawa again hit .300 in 2003 as a part-timer as the Dragons returned to the Japan Series, only to lose again. In 2005 Sekikawa was one of the first members of the expansion Rakuten Golden Eagles - the veteran center fielder provided hustle and hit .287/.354/.365 with the second-best OBP on the new team. That line was almost identical to the career one for the former backstop. In 2006, Koichi batted .286/.346/.342 for Rakuten.