Mitsuo Yoshikawa (吉川光夫, born April 6, 1988) is a Japanese

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player. A

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

, he plays for the

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Figh ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He previously played for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

(NPB).

Career

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

Yoshikawa was a first-round pick of the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Figh ...

out of high school. He went 4-3 with a 3.66 ERA in 2007, with 46 walks in 93 1/3 innings. In the 2007 Japan Series, the 19-year-old relieved Ryan Glynn in game two but walked two batters following three free passes issued by Glynn to set a

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

record for one team in one inning. Two games later, manager

Trey Hillman Thomas Brad "Trey" Hillman (born January 4, 1963) is an American professional baseball coach. He has also served as the manager of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan's Pacific League, the Kansas City Royals in the American League and the SK ...

gave Yoshikawa the ball, only the 5th rookie out of high school to start a Japan Series game and the first since Kazuhisa Ishii. Yoshikawa again struggled with his control, taking the loss to the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

(who would win the Series). Overall, he allowed seven walks, three hits and three runs (two earned) in six innings in the Series. The Fukuoka native fell to 2-4, 6.23 in his seven starts in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, walking 22 in 34 2/3 innings. #34 was 0-2 with a 6.61 ERA and 10 walks in 16 1/3 innings in 2009 and 0-4 with a 6.92 ERA and .330 opponent average in 2010. He was 0-5 with a 4.74 ERA in 2011 to bring his career record to 6-18. He then turned things around in a big way in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, going 14-5 with a 1.71 ERA. He was among the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently cons ...

leaders in wins (2nd, 3 behind

Tadashi Settsu is a Japanese baseball player. He has been with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks since 2009, and plays as pitcher, wearing number 50. In 2009, he was voted Most Valuable Rookie. The next year, he became the first pitcher ever to make 70 or more appea ...

), ERA (1st by .16 over

Masahiro Tanaka is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). From 2007 through 2013, he played for the Eagles in NPB. Tanaka was posted by the Eagles after the 2013 season to be s ...

), complete games (tied for 3rd with 5, even with Yoshihisa Naruse and Hiroshi Kisanuki), shutouts (3, tied for first with

Kenji Otonari , nicknamed "Tonarin", is a former Japanese baseball pitcher. Professional career Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Otonari was drafted in 2007 and made his first starts late in the year as the Hawks prepared for the playoffs. His first start was an Int ...

and Tanaka), innings (173 2/3, 7th, between Otonari and Tanaka), walks (45, 6th between Otonari and Ishii), strikeouts (158, 2nd, 11 behind Tanaka) and WHIP (0.88, 1st, .08 ahead of runner-up Takayuki Kishi). In the 2012 Japan Series, he did not fare as well, giving up 9 runs on 13 hits in 6 2/3 IP and losing games 1 and 5 as the Fighters fell to the

. He did win the Best Nine as the PL's top pitcher and also easily took home the 2012 Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award, with 181 first-place votes out of 210. He lost out the Sawamura Award to Settsu, who was a distant second place in the MVP voting.

Yomiuri Giants

On 2 November 2016, it was revealed that Yoshikawa had been included in a trade with the

with Shingo Ishikawa for Giants outfielder Taishi Ota and Katsuhiko Kumon.

Return to the Fighters

On June 26, 2019, Yoshikawa and teammate, catcher Shingo Usami were traded to the Fighters for pitchers,

Yohei Kagiya is a Japanese professional baseball player. He was born on September 9, 1990. He debuted in 2013 for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He had 42 strikeouts. References

Living people 1990 births Baseball people from Hokkaido Chuo Univers ...

and Takahiro Fujioka.

Pitching Style

With an overhand delivery Yoshikawa throws a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

(tops out at 94 mph),

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

, and curveball.

References

External links

Yakyu Baka
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshikawa, Mitsuo 1988 births Baseball people from Fukuoka (city) Living people Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Japanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Waikiki Beach Boys players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Saitama Seibu Lions players Yomiuri Giants players