is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

infielder for 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) ...

in Japan's

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 ...

Early career

Ishigaki started playing baseball in his third year with Kamejiro Elementary School. In his senior year in middle school, Ishigaki was selected for the Tohoku regional representative team. 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. In spring of his second year he was put in the outfield but returned to short stop in spring of his senior year. 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. On 20 October 2016, Ishigaki was selected as the 3rd draft pick for the

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.

Professional career

Chunichi Dragons

2017

Ishigaki started his career in the Western League farm team playing mostly at third-base where he hit .197 with 3 homeruns in 60 games. On 4 October, Ishigaki made his professional debut, starting at third base, batting 7th where he struck out 3 times in 3 at bats.

2018

On 12 July, Ishigaki was selected as a Dragon's representative in the 2018 Fresh All-Stars game where he hit a backscreen homerun as well as capturing

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

honours. On 19 October, it was announced that Ishigaki would be playing the 2018

Asia Winter Baseball League The Asia Winter Baseball League is a professional baseball league hosted in Taiwan with 2012 as its inaugural season. Making use of the warm and dry winter climate in West Taiwan, the short term league aims to offer young baseball players additio ...

for the Western League selection however he was injured in the lead up and replaced by Wataru Takamatsu. He finished the 2018 Western League season slashing .183/.256/.234 with one homerun having played 100 games.

2019

Ishigaki started the 2019 season on the farm where he captured monthly MVP honours for the month of June after hitting .345 with 3 homeruns and 7 RBIs. On 21 August, Ishigaki was promoted to the first team and on the same day struck his first professional hit as a

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

against

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 ...

ace,

Tomoyuki Sugano is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Career College career Sugano went to Tokai University, where he had a 37–4 win–loss record and a 0.57 earned run average (ERA). I ...

. At the season's end, Ishigaki received a pay rise of ¥1,200,000 after playing in 15 top team games.

Playing Style

Ishigaki hits for power with quick bat speed, can throw over 100 meters and can run 50 meters in 5.9 seconds. He has likened himself to and idolises

Tokyo 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 ...

' triple crown man, Tetsuto Yamada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishigaki, Masami 1998 births Living people Baseball people from Yamagata Prefecture Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball infielders Chunichi Dragons players