Shigeru Ishiwata

Shigeru Ishiwata (石渡 茂)

• Bats Right Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 156 lb.

• School Chuo University
• High School Waseda Jitsugyo High School

• Born August 12, 1948 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shigeru Ishiwata has played in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Ishiwata was drafted by the Kintetsu Buffaloes in the second round of the 1970 NPB draft. He debuted on August 31, 1971, but spent the first two years of his career in the NPB Farm Leagues. He was the backup shortstop to Shunji Nishimura, and batted .179/.278/.246 in 179 at-bats in the 1974 season. The Buffaloes named Ishiwata as the everyday short in the next year, but his batting line was still terrible at .209/.275/.270. The Kawasaki native improved to .259/.341/.358 in 1976.

Ishiwata broke out in 1977, when he played all 130 games and batted .285/.319/.364 with a league-leading 8 sacrifice flies. In the 1977 NPB All-Star Games, he started in the Game 1, but didn't have any hits in 5 at-bats. He ranked 8th in batting average that season, and won the Best Nine award for the first time in his career. He regressed a little in 1978 with a .266/.326/.352 batting line, but bounced back soon in 1979. Ishiwata recorded a .281/.341/.423 batting line with a career-high 11 homers. In Game 7 of the 1979 Nippon Series, Ishiwata failed to complete a squeeze play against Yutaka Enatsu in the 9th inning when the bases were loaded (causing the runner to be out; Ishiwata then struck out to end the at-bat), which caused the Buffaloes to lose the Nippon Series Title. He hit .190/.190/.190 with two runs and two RBI in the Series. He was selected into the 1980 NPB All-Star Game and recorded a 0-for-2. Ishiwata ended up hitting .265/.331/.391 with 9 dingers in 1980. He hit a solid .296/.407/.321 in the 1980 Japan Series but Kintetsu lost to the Hiroshima Carp again.

He struggled in 1981 as his batting line fell to .191/.259/.282, and Tokuichi Fukiishi took his starting spot. When another talented infielder prospect, Hiroshi Moriwaki joined the team, Ishiwata was limited to 90 games played with a .228/.288/.321 batting line in 1982. The Buffaloes then traded him with Koji Ohta to the Yomiuri Giants for Shigeaki Oishi and cash. Ishiwata struggled in the first year with the Giants as his batting line was .162/.227/.235, but he bounced back with a .297/.381/.405 batting line in 1984. When prospect Kaoru Okazaki took his backup infielder spot, Ishiwata decided to retire after the 1985 season.

Overall, Ishiwata had hit .249/.314/.343 in 14 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1977 NPB All-Star Game
• 1980 NPB All-Star Game
• Defunct Japan Baseball Daily site