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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
player for the
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...
of the
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).
Career
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters selected Nishikawa with the second selection in the
2010 NPB draft.
On March 30, 2012, Nishikawa made his NPB debut.
Nishikawa hit a
walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 5 of the
2016 Japan Series
The 2016 Japan Series was the 67th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. The Hiroshima Toyo Carp, champions of the Central League, played the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, champions of the Pacific League, in a ...
, which Nishikawa would go on to win.
On February 27, 2019, he was selected first time for
Japan national baseball team
The is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009, as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Sof ...
at the 2019 exhibition games against
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
In 2020, Nishikawa hit .296/.419/.388 with 5 home runs, 15 doubles, and 3 triples to go along with 37 stolen bases. After the 2020 season, on December 3, 2020, the Fighters announced it was allowing Nishikawa to enter the
posting system to play in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB). On January 3, 2021, Nishikawa failed to secure a deal with any of the MLB teams. Nishikawa became a free agent following the 2021 season.
On December 22, 2021, Nishikawa signed with the
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...
of
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 ...
.
References
1992 births
Living people
Baseball people from Wakayama Prefecture
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players
Japanese baseball players
Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen
Nippon Professional Baseball left fielders
Nippon Professional Baseball second basemen
category:Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players
{{Japan-baseball-bio-stub