is a Japanese former baseball

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 ...

. His elder brother Satoshi was also a former professional baseball player.

Biography

Iriki attended the Perfect Liberty High School and

Asia University (Japan) The is a private university located in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan that offers courses in Business Administration, Economics, Law, International Relations and Urban Innovation. The university was founded in 1941 by Kozo Ota as on the site of the ...

before joining the Honda amateur baseball team. He was drafted by 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 ...

in 1996. In 1999, his older brother, Satoshi, was traded to the Giants from the

Kintetsu Buffaloes The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stad ...

, and the two were teammates from 1999 to 2000. In 2001, he led the team in wins (13), and appeared in the

all-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

for the first time. His brother had also made it to the all-star game, pitching for the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

, and the Iriki brothers made back to back appearances in the all-star game. This was the first all-star sibling relay in Japanese baseball history. In the 2003 off-season, Iriki was traded to the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional 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 Fighters also host a ...

, and caused some controversy by trying to make the team ensure that he would be released to play in the major leagues in two years. Iriki got his wish in 2006, signing a major league contract with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. He did not make it onto the major league roster, and was given a minor league contract in April of the same year. On April 28, 2006, Iriki was suspended for 50 games for violating Major League Baseball's policy against performance-enhancing drug use."Mets pitcher gets 50-game doping ban"
Yahoo! Sports, April 28, 2006 The suspension originated from testing during the Mets'

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

camp. Iriki was dropped by the Mets at the end of 2006, and spent the 2007 season in the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

minor league system. He returned to the Japanese leagues in 2008, signing with the

Yokohama 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 ...

. After the season, he announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Biography

References

See also