Hirotoshi Ishii
Hirotoshi Ishii (石井 弘寿, September 14, 1977) from Iwasaki, Ichihara, Chiba, Japan, is a Japanese baseball player. He currently plays as a relief pitcher for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
| Hirotoshi Ishii | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Yakult Swallows – No. 98 | |||
| Pitcher / Pitching coach | |||
| Born: September 14, 1977 Ichihara, Chiba | |||
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| NPB debut | |||
| July 6, 1996, for the Yakult Swallows | |||
| Last NPB appearance | |||
| October 25, 2011, for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows | |||
| NPB statistics (through 2011 season) | |||
| Win-Loss | 27-15 | ||
| ERA | 2.66 | ||
| Strikeouts | 485 | ||
| Saves | 55 | ||
| Teams | |||
| As player
As coach
| |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
| |||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  | ||
| Men's Baseball | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | Athens 2004 | Team Competition |
| World Baseball Classic | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2006 San Diego | Team |
He has repeatedly expressed a desire to play in the majors, and several teams have shown an interest in the left-hander. The Swallows were reluctant to release Ishii in the 2005 off-season, but promised they would allow him to come to the majors if he was able to play another full season in Japan (a similar promise was made to Akinori Iwamura, who signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays). Ishii was expected to sign with a major league team during the 2006 off-season, but injured his left shoulder, and decided to remain with the Swallows.
He joined the Japanese olympic baseball team for the 2004 Summer Olympics, and won a bronze medal.