Tsuyoshi Kawagishi

Tsuyoshi Kawagishi (川岸 強‎)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 163 lb.

• School Komazawa University
• High School Toin Gakuen High School

• Born September 12, 1979 in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Tsuyoshi Kawagishi pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Japanese national team.

Kawagishi allowed 3 runs in 9 innings for Japan when they won Bronze in the 2003 Baseball World Cup. The Chunichi Dragons drafted him in the seventh round of the 2003 NPB draft. Kawagishi had a 5.28 ERA in his rookie year, then improved to 3.45 in 23 appearances in 2005. He suffered a waist injury and missed the entire 2006 season, and the Dragon released him. The Rakuten Golden Eagles picked him up, but Kawagishi still struggled due to a right elbow injury. He allowed 12 runs in 16 innings in 2007. He is listed as representing Japan in the 2007 Baseball World Cup; the Cup final report does not show him on the team though.

The Kanagawa native finally broke out in 2008. He had an elite 1.94 ERA with 13 holds in 55 appearances, and Rakuten's manager Katsuya Nomura named him as their closer in the middle of the 2007 season. Kawagishi was expected to extended his good performance as a closer in 2009, but he struggled because of elbow and left foot injuries. He only had a 4.35 ERA in 26 appearances. He bounced back soon in 2010, and was into the 2010 NPB All-Star Game. He allowed one run in one inning of Game 2. However, Kawagishi struggled the rest of the season, and Shinichiro Koyama replaced him as Rakuten's closer. He ended up collecting 13 saves with a 6.12 ERA. Kawagishi only had 12 appearances in 2011, and spent the whole 2012 season in the NPB Farm Leagues. He announced his retirement after the 2012 season, and became a coach. He was the pitching coach for the Rakuten Monkeys of the CPBL since 2022.

Kawagishi's repertoire included a fastball (peak 90.7 mph), cutter, slider, sinker, shuuto and forkball.

Overall, Kawagishi was 12-14, notched 27 holds, 18 saves and a 4.27 ERA and pitched 212 2/3 innings in 7 seasons in NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• Defunct IBAF site