Midori Ishikawa

Midori Ishikawa (石川 緑)
also known as Rokuro Ito

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 167 lbs.

• High School Koh High School

• Born May 10, 1934 in Toyokawa, Aichi, Japan
• Born April 20, 2004 in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Midori Ishikawa pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 14 years.

Ishikawa was signed by the Chunichi Dragons in 1954, and he was 3-2 with a 3.51 ERA in his rookie year. He stayed in the NPB Farm Leagues for the next four seasons, and he only pitched 32 games combined. Ishikawa broke out in 1960, having a 13-12 record with a 2.36 ERA in 61 appearances. He was 10th in wins (tied with Ryohei Hasegawa and Masaru Honma), 2nd in appearances (8 behind Ritsuo Horimoto) and 7th in ERA (between Masaaki Koyama and Genichi Murata) in the Central League. However, he slumped to 3-1 with a 4.58 ERA in 1961, and the Dragons traded him to the Hanshin Tigers for cash.

The Aichi native was 5-4 with a 2.32 ERA in 1962, and the Tigers won the CL pennant. He completed a immaculate inning on May 3, and he was the 5th NPB pitcher to do it. He pitched 2/3 of a shutout inning in the 1962 Nippon Series Game 3, fanning 2 in 2 shutout innings in Game 4 and recorded 1/3 of a shutout inning in Game 5. The Toei Flyers still beat the Tigers in 7 games. Ishikawa then went 9-8 with a 3.95 ERA in 1963, and he was 10-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 1964. He led the league in winning percentage in 1964 and ranked 8th in ERA (between Minoru Kakimoto and Makoto Inagawa). In the 1964 Nippon Series, Ishikawa pitched 5 innings with 2 runs allowed in Game 3, and he got the win over Joe Stanka. He then pitched 2 shutout innings in Game 7, but the Nankai Hawks beat the Tigers.

Ishikawa was still a solid starter in 1965, and he had a 10-10 record with a 2.91 ERA. He was 6-13 with a 3.12 ERA in 1966, and he tied Stanka for 7th in losses. Ishikawa struggled in 1967 as his ERA rose to 6.14 in 22 appearances, and the Tigers released him. The Flyers picked him up, but Ishikawa was 1-3 with a 6.05 ERA in 1968 and he announced his retirement. He passed away in 2004 due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Overall, Ishikawa was 62-60 with a 3.32 ERA, struck out 547 and pitched 1,169 2/3 innings in 14 years in NPB.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio