Mitsugu Ishibashi

Mitsugu Ishibashi (石橋 貢)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 171 lb.

• School Kanagawa University
• High School Taisha High School

• Born May 5, 1957 in Izumo, Shimane Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Mitsugu Ishibashi played in Nippon Pro Baseball for a decade.

Undrafted, he was signed by the Taiyo Whales as an undrafted free agent in 1979. He debuted for Taiyo in 1981, going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in ten games. In his debut, he pinch-ran for Daisuke Yamashita. He was 3 for 8 with 3 walks and 6 runs in 1982; he singled off Yoshitaka Katori for his first NPB hit. On August 31, he was involved in a play that led to a fight. With the game 1-1 in the 7th inning against the Hanshin Tigers already marked by disputed umpiring calls against Hanshin, Taira Fujita hit a ball that 3B umpire Wataru Washiya ruled foul. Hanshin 3B coach Akiteru Kono said the ball hit third baseman Ishibashi's glove and thus was fair. Hanshin coaches Ikuo Shimano and Takeshi Shibata wound up attacking Wakiya and home plate umpire Isao Okada. Ishibashi led the minor Eastern League in swipes that year.

Ishibashi barely took the field in 1983, mainly being as a pinch-runner. He was 0 for 9 with 3 walks, 3 runs and a steal. He went 3 for 20 with a double and walk as a backup infielder in 1984. In 1985, he was moved to the outfield and hit .158/.238/.246 in 67 plate appearances over 82 games; he scored 26 runs, still pinch-running often. He hit his first homer, off Akira Okawa. He batted .284/.342/.373 in 75 plate appearances and 77 games in 1986, stealing 4 bases in 5 tries.

The Shimane native hit .222/.242/.317 in 67 plate appearances and 92 games in 1987 and .270/.396/.365 in 96 plate appearances and 80 games in 1988. Amazingly, he hit three homers on May 28 against Hanshin, representing half his career total. He hit .270/.378/.397 in 76 plate appearances and 68 games in 1989, going 7-for-7 in steals. He did not play the next year, then was sold to the Yakult Swallows. He played one game for them in 1991 and did not bat, then retired.

In 467 games in NPB, he had 431 plate appearances, hitting .233/.322/.345 with 92 runs, 31 RBI and 21 stolen bases in 30 tries.