Tomoya Ichikawa

Tomoya Ichikawa (市川 友也)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 172 lb.

• School Tokai University
• High School Tokai University Sagami High School

• Born May 9, 1985 in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Tomoya Ichikawa has caught in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Japanese national team.

The Yomiuri Giants drafted Ichikawa in the fourth round of the 2009 NPB draft. He hit .297 in the NPB Farm Leaguess, and represented Japan in the 2010 Intercontinental Cup. He had only had one plate appearance in the Cup, drawing a walk from Rob Cordemans of the Dutch national team before Tsubasa Aizawa took over. However, he only played 6 games combined in the next 3 seasons, and the Giants traded him to the Nippon Ham Fighters for cash after the 2013 season. Ichikawa was named the main backup catcher of the Fighters in 2014, and he hit .263/.306/.336 in a career-high 73 game played. He only hit .226/.272/.340 in 2015, and slumped to .165/.226/.203 in 2016. The Kanagawa native still struggled as his batting line was .170/.226/.244 in 2017, and the Fighters traded him to the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks for cash in 2018. Ichikawa hit .167/.186/.381 in 25 games with the Hawks, then announced his retirement after the 2018 season.

Overall, Ichikawa had hit .199/.249/.281 in 8 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• 2010 Intercontinental Cup Final Report
• NPB site
• Wiki Japan