Kei Igawa

{{Infobox MLB player| bgcolor1=#1c2841| bgcolor2=#1c2841| textcolor1=white| textcolor2=white| image=Igawa.JPG|296px| name=Kei Igawa
井川 慶| position=Starting Pitcher| team=Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees| number=92| bats=Left| throws=Left| birthdate= (1979-07-13) July 13, 1979| debutdate=April 7| debutyear=2007| debutteam=New York Yankees| statyear=August 6, 2007| stat1label=Win-Loss| stat1value=2-3| stat3label=Strikeouts| stat3value=51| stat2label=Earned Run Average| stat2value=6.79| teams=

• Hanshin Tigers (1998–2006)
• New York Yankees ([[2007 in baseball|2007-Present)

}}

Kei Igawa (井川 慶, Igawa Kei, born July 13, 1979 in Ōarai, Ibaraki) is a Japanese left-handed pitcher who plays for the New York Yankees. He played for the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese League from 1999 to 2006. He led the Central League in strikeouts in 2002, 2004, and 2006. He played in the 2006 Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series.

Professional career

Japanese career

He was the number two draft choice of the Hanshin Tigers in 1998. After a couple of years in the Hanshin minor league system, Igawa entered the starting rotation in 2001. In his first full season season as a starter, Igawa went 9-13 for the last-placed Tigers, but finished with a Central League second-best 2.67 ERA, behind only Chunichi's Shigeki Noguchi.

In 2002, Hanshin improved to fourth and Igawa's record was 14-9. He finished third in ERA (2.49), trailing Masumi Kuwata and Kenshin Kawakami. He also led the Central League with 206 strikeouts.

In 2003, the Tigers won the Central League pennant. Igawa made a great contribution with his brilliant performance. He pitched very well and finished with a 20-5 record ,a 2.80 ERA, and was third with 179 strikeouts. He was named to the Best Nine, won the MVP in the Central League and also won the Sawamura Award, the Japanese equivalent of the MLB Cy Young Award.

Igawa saw a decline in performance in 2004 and 2005. In 2004, despite leading the league at 228 strikeouts, he went 14-11 with a 3.73 ERA. In 2005, Igawa went 13-9 with a 3.86 ERA, fifth among his team's starters in ERA, and was briefly exiled to the minors. He was only tied for fifth in strikeouts (down significantly to 145) and 10th in ERA, but was still third in the circuit in victories. While still a productive hurler, Igawa became a target of enthusiastic fan criticism due to his inability to perform at his prior level.

New York Yankees Career

In 2006, Igawa announced his intention to play in North America. On November 16, 2006, Igawa was posted by the Hanshin Tigers. On November 29, 2006, it was announced that the New York Yankees were the highest bidders at $26,000,194, with the last three digits representing his strikeout total for the 2006 season. He signed a 5 year, 20 million dollar contract on December 27, 2006. On January 8, 2007, Igawa was officially announced at a Yankee Stadium press conference. On April 7, 2007 he made his major league debut, allowing 7 earned runs in five innings and receiving a no decision. The highlight of his first MLB stint was a stellar relief performance against the Boston Red Sox that earned him a win. However, the Yankees saw flaws in his mechanics and, on May 7, optioned him to the Florida State League's Tampa Yankees to work with Nardi Contreras and Billy Connors. Igawa apparently made progress in mechanics and location at Tampa, and was subsequently called up to pitch for the AAA Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees. Igawa made his return start at the San Francisco Giants on June 22, 2007, allowing two earned runs in 4.2 innings. Since returning he is 0-1 with a 5.54 ERA.

On July 27, 2007, Igawa was demoted to AAA Scranton. Triple A Scranton infielder Chris Basak has taken Igawa's spot on the Major League roster. On [[July 29], Kei Igawa was the first base coach for the Triple A Scranton game against the Rochester Redwings.

On August 10, 2007, Igawa was reportedly claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres.

Player profile

Igawa's fastball will usually stay in the 89-90 mph range, but he is able to reach back and throw harder when in need of a strikeout (He can hit speeds up to 93 mph). Igawa also throws a changeup, which hovers in the 78-81 mph range, and a slider, which he uses primarily against left-handed batters. His changeup has a tendency to be belt-high and in the middle of the plate. Major League Baseball's hitters hit pitches that are belt-high and over the plate. In Japan, that pitch drew a lot of swings and misses. Igawa is known to possess above-average control.

Igawas trademark is to wear sunglasses when he pitches in day games. His record during day games in Japan was 4-5, 7.09 ERA.

Personality

• In February of 2007, Igawa announced on his Japanese blog that he had married recently.
• Igawa likes shogi (Japanese chess).

Pro Statistics

Year	Team	G	W	L	SV	IP	K	BB	HR	ERA
1998	Hanshin	―	―	―	―	―	―	―	―	―
1999	Hanshin	7	1	1	0	15.1	14	13	1	6.46
2000	Hanshin	9	1	3	0	39.1	37	19	5	4.35
2001	Hanshin	29	9	13	0	192.0	171	89	11	2.67
2002	Hanshin	31	14	9	1	209.2	206	53	15	2.49
2003	Hanshin	29	20	5	0	206.0	179	58	15	2.80
2004	Hanshin	29	14	11	0	200.1	228	54	29	3.73
2005	Hanshin	27	13	9	0	172.1	145	60	23	3.86
2006	Hanshin	29	14	9	0	209	194	49	17	2.97
Total	―	190	86	60	1	1244	1174	395	116	3.14

*Bold = led league

External links

• MLB.com
• Official Website Template:Ja icon
• Frank's Field of Dreams - Kei Igawa
• Sports Illustrated interview