Masami Ishigaki
| Masami Ishigaki | |
|---|---|
| Chunichi Dragons – No. 32 | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: September 21, 1998 Sakata, Yamagata | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| Teams | |
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Masami Ishigaki (石垣 雅海, Ishigaki Masami, born September 21, 1998 in Sakata, Yamagata, Japan) is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
Early career
Ishigaki started playing baseball in his third year with Kamejiro Elementary School.[1][2] In his senior year in middle school, Ishigaki was selected for the Tohoku regional representative team.[1] In spring of his first year at South Sakata High School he became the regular third baseman for the team and in fall of the same year, he switched to fielding at short-stop.[1] In spring of his second year he was put in the outfield but returned to short stop in spring of his senior year.[1]
Through his high school career he was not able to play at the summer koshien tournament with the best result being a semi-final appearance in the Tohoku prefectural tournament.[2]
On 20 October 2016, Ishigaki was selected as the 3rd draft pick for the Chunichi Dragons at the 2016 NPB Draft and on 22 November signed a provisional contract with a ¥50,000,000 sign-on bonus and a ¥5,400,000 yearly salary.[3]
Playing Style
Ishigaki hits for power with quick bat speed,[2] can throw over 100 meters and can run 50 meters in 5.9 seconds.[1] He has likened himself to and idolises Tokyo Yakult Swallows' triple crown man, Tetsuto Yamada.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e "酒田南・石垣 ３拍子そろった大砲 ドラフトを待つ" [South Sakata's Ishigaki: The kid with 3 tools waits for the draft]. Nikkan Sports. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- ^ a b c "石垣 雅海プロフィール" [Profile of Masami Ishigaki]. SportsNavi (in Japanese). Yahoo News. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- ^ "中日３位石垣が仮契約「ガッキーって呼ばれてます」(Chunichi, 3rd pick Ishigaki signs pre-contract "They call me Gaki".)". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 22 November 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- ^ "「東北ＮＯ１スラッガー」酒田南・石垣、ドラフトは「人生がかかっている日」" [Tohoku's number one Slugger, Masami Ishigaki "Life banks on draft day"]. Sports Hochi (in Japanese). 19 October 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.