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 ...

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 draw ...

for the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

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).

Professional career

On October 24, 2013, Ishikawa was drafted as a developmental player by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the

2013 Nippon Professional Baseball draft The 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Draft was held on October 24, , for the 49th time at the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa to assign amateur baseball players to the NPB.　It was arranged with the special cooperation of Taisho Pharmaceutic ...

2014–2020 season

From 2014 to 2016, he played in informal matches against the

Shikoku Island League Plus The is an independent professional baseball league on the island of Shikoku in Japan. (None of the teams in Nippon Professional Baseball are based in Shikoku.) The league currently has four teams, and has its league headquarters in Takamatsu. Th ...

's teams and amateur baseball teams, and played in the Western League of NPB second leagues. On July 1, 2016, he signed a 5 million yen contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as a registered player under control On April 4, 2017, Ishikawa pitched his debut game against 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 ...

as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. On May 31, he won the game as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

for the first time. In 2017 season, he finished the regular season with a 34 Games pitched, a 8–3 Win–loss record, a 3.29 ERA, a one Holds, a 99 strikeouts in 98 1/3 innings. In post season, he pitched against the

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its c ...

as a relief pitcher in the

2017 Japan Series The 2017 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2017'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason. The 68th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the F ...

, and won the game for the first time in the Japan Series on October 31. In 2018 season, Ishikawa finished the regular season with a 42 Games pitched, a 13–6 Win–loss record, a 3.60 ERA, a 6 Holds, a 96 strikeouts in 127 1/3 innings. On October 10, he was selected

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

2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series The 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series was the twelfth edition of the MLB Japan All-Star Series, a best-of-six series between an All-Star team from Major League Baseball (MLB) and for the second time in series history, the Japanese national team, Sa ...

, but on November 2, he canceled his participation. And he pitched against the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

as a

in the

2018 Japan Series The 2018 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2018'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2018 season. The 69th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff betwee ...

, but he felt uncomfortable on his right elbow and left the bench on October 31. Ishikawa developed right elbow pain in April and spent most of the 2019 season in rehabilitation. He made a comeback on September 23, but only pitched two games in the 2019 season. However, he pitched as a relief pitcher and won in the

2019 Japan Series The 2019 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2019'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2019 season. The 70th edition of the Japan Series, it was played from 19-23 October. Th ...

against 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 ...

, contributing to the team's third consecutive victory. In the match against the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

on August 1, 2020, Ishikawa recorded his first

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

game. In 2020 season, he finished the regular season with a 18 Games pitched, a 11–3 Win–loss record (Pacific League the most wins Champion,

Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

leader .786), a 2.42 ERA, a 103 strikeouts in 111.2 innings. In the

2020 Japan Series The 2020 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2020'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2020 season. The 71st edition of the Japan Series, it was played from November 21 to 25. ...

against the Yomiuri Giants, He pitched in Game 2 as a starting pitcher, becoming the first starting pitcher in his career to win the Japan Series and contributing to the team's fourth consecutive Japan Series champion. On December 17, Ishikawa was honored for the Pacific League most wins Champion Award, the Pacific League winning percentage leader Award, and the Pacific League Speed Up Award at the NPB AWARD 2020.

2021 season–present

On March 26, 2021, Ishikawa pitched against

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural ...

in the opening game of the season and won the opening game for the first time as a pitcher from a developmental squad player. In 2021 season, he recorded with a 28 Games pitched, a 6–9 Win–loss record, a 3.40 ERA, and a 134 strikeouts in 156.1 innings. In 2022 season, he suffered from an ankle injury. But he finished the regular season with a 23 Games pitched, a 7–10 Win–loss record, a 3.37 ERA, and a 106 strikeouts in 136.1 innings.

International career

Ishikawa represented the

in the Samurai Japan Series 2022.

Personal life

On January 28, 2023, Ishikawa married former

SKE48 SKE48 (S.K.E. Forty-eight) is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. SKE48 is named after the Sakae district in Nagoya of Aichi Prefecture, where the group is based. The group performs at SKE48 Theater on 2F of Sunshine Sakae, a s ...

member

Mina Oba Mina may refer to: Places Iran * Minaq, East Azerbaijan * Mina, Fars * Mineh, Lorestan Province * Mina, Razavi Khorasan * Mehneh, Razavi Khorasan Province United States * Mina, California * Mina, Nevada * Mina, New York * Mina, Ohio * ...

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp
- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Ishikawa, Shuta 1991 births Living people Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Sōka University alumni Baseball people from Tokyo