Ryu Hanekawa

Ryu Hanekawa (羽根川 竜)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 165 lbs.

• High School Tohoku High School

• Born June 5, 1973 in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Ryu Hanekawa pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and the Chinese Professional Baseball League for 2 years apiece.

Hanekawa was drafted by the Yomiuri Giants in the sixth round of the 1987 NPB draft, but he spend his first five seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues, and the Giants released him in 1996. The Chiba Lotte Marines picked him up, but Hanekawa still struggled as he only pitched 9 games combined with the big club in 2 seasons for the Marines. Chiba Lotte then released him after the 1998 season, and Hanekawa decided to joined the Brother Elephants of the CPBL. The Sendai native pitched well in Taiwan, having a 7-9 record with a 3.11 ERA in 1999. He ranked 6th in strikeouts, 35 behind Mark Kiefer. Hanekawa improved and had a 11-9 record with a 2.87 ERA in 2000. He ranked 5th in wins (9 behind Kiefer), 7th in ERA (1.25 behind Kiefer) and 6th in strikeouts (44 behind Jonathan Hurst). Hanekawa then announced his retirement and came back to Japan.

Overall, Hanekawa was 18-18 with a 2.98 ERA, struck out 215 and pitched 314 1/3 innings in 2 years in CPBL.