Kei Igawa

Kei Igawa (井川 慶, Igawa Kei, born July 13, 1979) is a Japanese left-handed starting pitcher who is currently playing for the Orix Buffaloes originally from Ōarai, Ibaraki, Japan. He played for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball from 1999 to 2006. He led all pitchers in the Central League for strikeouts in 2002, 2004 and 2006. He also played in the 2006 Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series.

Professional career

Hanshin Tigers (1998–2006)

He was the number two draft choice of the Hanshin Tigers in 1998. After a couple of years in the Hanshin minor league system, Igawa entered the starting rotation in 2001. In his first full season as a starter, Igawa went 9-13 for the last-placed Tigers, but finished with a Central League second-best 2.67 ERA, behind only Chunichi's Shigeki Noguchi.

In 2002, Hanshin improved to fourth and Igawa's record was 14-9. He finished third in ERA (2.49), trailing Masumi Kuwata and Kenshin Kawakami. He also led the Central League with 206 strikeouts.