Kei Igawa (井川 慶, Igawa Kei, born July 13, 1979) is a former Japanese left-handed pitcher. He played for the Hanshin Tigers and Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). 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. Although he has not announced his retirement, Igawa does not belong to any professional team. Igawa's fastball will usually stay in the 87–90 mph range, but he is able to reach back and throw harder when in need of a strikeout (tops out at 93 mph). Igawa also throws a changeup, which hovers in the 78–81 mph range, and a slider, which he uses primarily against left-handed batters. His changeup has a tendency to be belt-high and in the middle of the plate. This pitch drew a lot of swings and misses in Japan, but it did not have the same success in America. Igawa was known to possess above-average control in Japan, but has a very poor track record of control at the Major League level. More information...
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