Kazuhisa Ishii (Kah-zoo-hee-sah E-shee)...in the final year of a four-year deal with two club
options for 2006 and 2007 which he signed on Feb. 8, 2002...he and his wife, Ayako Kisa, have one child, Kanta
(12/3/01)...wife is a television news anchor for the evening news on Fuji-TV and once served as host of the
sports program "Pro Baseball News"...took part in the inaugural Dodger Caravan on Feb. 7, 2005.
2005
Spent time in the Minor Leagues at age 31 in
his fourth big league season following 10 seasons in Japan. He made his first
three Major League relief appearances in successive games in late September,
pushing his ERA to 5.14 in the last one. That ERA was consistent with the 3-9
record he produced in 16 starts. He made four starts in which he worked 27
innings and allowed merely three runs. But, more often than not, he struggled to find a rhythm.
2004
Was 13-8 with a 4.71 ERA (90 ER/172.0 IP) in 31 starts...allowed three earned
runs or less in 21 of his 31 starts in 2004 and in 62 of 86 career starts (72 percent)...
the Dodgers were 19-12 in his starts this season and scored nine or more
runs 10 times...had two complete-game shutouts on the season, the only Dodger
to complete a game in 2004...was 6-3 with a 3.77 home ERA (30 ER/71.2 IP) in 13
starts at Dodger Stadium this season...held left-handed batters to a .262 batting
average and right-handed hitters to a .240 average...batted just .130 (7-for-54) with
a home run, but led all Dodger pitchers with six RBI...prior to the season,was rated
as having the third-best curveball in the NLWest by USA Today...made his first
start of the season on April 9 vs. Colorado and won 5-1, allowing one run on four
hits in 6.0 innings...threw his first career shutout on April 25, defeating San
Francisco 9-0 on four hits...the previous longest outing of his career had been 7.2
innings on July 14, 2002 vs. Arizona...improved to 4-1 with a 13-4 win vs. Montreal
on April 30, as he allowed two runs on six hits in 6.0 innings...won again on May 6 at Florida, 9-4, as he
allowed two runs in 6.2 innings...struggled with his control in his start on May 14 vs. Cincinnati, walking a
career-high seven batters in 4.0 innings and losing 2-1...shut out Arizona through six innings on three hits
in a 3-0 win on May 30 at Dodger Stadium...had one of his best
starts of the season in a 6-1 win at Toronto on June 10...allowed
six hits and one run in 8.0 innings, the lone tally coming on a
solo home run by Vernon Wells...walked the first batter he
faced and then no more in the game, tying a career low for
walks in a game, also walked just one on June 28, 2003 at
Anaheim...walked just one in his next start, but had no decision
in the Dodgers' 4-3 win vs. Baltimore on June 17...defeated
the Angels 10-5 on June 27 at Dodger Stadium to improve to
9-3...pitched 6+ innings and allowed five runs (three earned)
on four hits and five walks...finished off the first half in grand
style as he defeated Arizona 11-0 on July 7, pitching a one-hit
shutout, his second shutout of the season and of his
career...allowed just a leadoff walk in the fifth to Luis
Gonzalez, followed by a single by Shea Hillenbrand, other than
that he was perfect...retired the first 12 and the last 15 batters
he faced...won his first start of the second half to improve to 10-
3, allowing two runs on four hits in 6.0 innings in a 6-2 win at Arizona on July 16...was temporarily removed
from the rotation but was pressed into action again due to injuries for a start on Aug. 14 at Chicago and he
pitched well in a 2-0 loss...allowed two runs on six hits in 7.0 innings...defeated the Expos 10-2 on Aug. 24
at Montreal, as he allowed two runs in 7.1 innings...won again on Aug. 29 at New York to improve to 13-6,
defeating the Mets 10-2...allowed one run on four hits in 6.0 innings...lost 5-1 at St. Louis on Sept. 4, allowing
five runs (three earned) on two hits and four walks in 5.2 innings...again removed from the starting rotation
and did not pitch again until starting on Sept. 23 at San Diego, when he allowed four runs in 4.2 innings,
but had no decision in the Dodgers' 9-6 win...struck out a season-high nine batters and allowed one run in
7.0 innings, but had no decision in the Dodgers' 5-4 win vs. Colorado on Sept. 28...allowed just two hits, both
in the first inning...lost his final start of the season on Oct. 3 vs. San Francisco, 10-0...allowed three earned
runs in 5.0 innings...took part in the Major Leaguers tour of Japan following the season and appeared in two
games, posting a 1.29 ERA (1 ER/7.0 IP).
2003
Went 9-7 with a 3.37 ERA in 27 starts during his second season of pitching in the United States...earned the Rising Star award at the Los Angeles Sports Fans Choice Awards on Jan. 26, 2004...allowed three earned runs or less in 20 of his 27 starts, including 16 straight starts from April 8-July 4...held the opposition to a .238 batting average, including left-handers to a .192 average...allowed six hits or less in 22 of 27 starts...went 5-2 with a 3.12 ERA in 14 home starts...was 8-3 with a 2.94 ERA in 18 first-half starts...immediately erased the demons from the end of the 2002 season in which he was hit in the head by a batted ball by Houston's Brian Hunter...ironically his first game back on the mound in Spring Training the first batter he would face was Hunter, who hit a ball up the middle that Ishii could not spear, which went for a base hit...that was the only hit he allowed in two scoreless innings of work...had a stretch from April 16-May 21 where he went 4-0 with a 1.71 ERA in seven starts and did not allow more than two earned runs in any of those games...won on June 6 vs. the Chicago White Sox, pitching 7.0 strong innings in a 2-1 win...allowed four hits and two walks, while striking out a seasonhigh nine batters, matched on July 4 vs. Arizona...won 3-2 at Detroit on June 12 after the start of the game was delayed one hour and 51 minutes due to rain...allowed two runs in 7.0 innings and struck out eight...beat the Cardinals 8-5 after the All-Star break on July 18 at Dodger Stadium, allowing four earned runs in 6.0 innings, despite allowing a career-high three home runs...missed a month of action with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, being placed on the disabled list from July 30-Aug. 29...had no decision on Sept. 10 at Arizona, as he pitched 6.0 innings of one-hit shutout ball and collected his first career triple, but the Diamondbacks rallied for five runs in the eighth inning off the bullpen to win 5-4.
CAREER SUMMARY: In his two seasons in Major League Baseball has a 23-17 record and a 4.07 ERA over 55 starts...is 11-8 at home with a 3.48 ERA (60 ER/155.0 IP)...owns a 3-1 record and a 1.50 ERA (7 ER/42.0 IP) against the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks (seven starts)...has allowed three earned runs or less in 41 of his 55 career starts (75 percent)...has compiled 19 first-half wins over the last two seasons, tying him for the fourth-highest total among left-handers in the Major Leagues behind Mark Mulder (21), Jamie Moyer (20) and David Wells (20)...he also ranks ninth in that category among all pitchers...his 23 victories over the past two seasons rank 16th among big league left-handers...is tied with Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson and David Wells for the Major League-lead with seven March/April victories over the last two seasons... his 14 wins in 2002 set an L.A. Dodger record for wins by a rookie left-hander, breaking Fernando Valenzuela's mark of 13 set in 1981...the 14 wins were the most by a Dodger rookie left-hander since Joe Hatten won 14 for Brooklyn in 1946...Nap Rucker set the franchise mark with 15 wins in 1907...made Major League debut and picked up his first win on April 6 vs. Colorado...his first strikeout was the second batter he faced, Juan Uribe...joined teammate Hideo Nomo (1995-98, 2002) as only the second Japanese player to wear a Dodger uniform and 14th all-time to play in the Major Leagues...a former Japanese All-Star, Ishii compiled a 78-46 record with a 3.38 ERA and 1,277 strikeouts in 1184.1 innings of work over 244 games in 10 years with the Yakult Swallows...made his debut with the Swallows on June 9, 1992 following his selection in the first round of the November 1991 draft...appeared in six of 10 Japan Series from 1992-2001 (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2001), winning five titles...threw a nohitter on Sept. 2, 1997 vs. the Yokohama Bay Stars.
2002
Finished second among NL rookies in both wins (14) and strikeouts (143), fifth in innings pitched (154.0 IP), sixth in winning percentage (.583), seventh in opponents batting average (.240) and 10th in earned run average...was 5-0 with a 3.03 ERA in his first month in the Major Leagues and was selected as April's National League Rookie of the Month...his 6-0 start as a starting pitcher was the best by a Dodger since Orel Hershiser began the 1988 season 6-0...the best start by a Dodger rookie starting pitcher was 8-0 by Fernando Valenzuela in 1981...was 6-6 with a 3.86 ERA (33 ER/77.0 IP) in 14 starts at Dodger Stadium...tied an L.A. Dodger record by striking out 10 batters in his Major League debut, going 5.2 scoreless innings and allowing two hits in a 9-2 win vs. Colorado on April 6...his 10 strikeouts matched Pedro Astacio's L.A. Dodger debut record, set on July 3, 1992 (second game) vs. the Phillies...beat the Cubs on May 4 at Dodger Stadium, 3-2, allowing two runs in 7.0 innings...by winning that game, he became the only pitcher since division play began in 1969 to start in his first six ML appearances and win them all...suffered his first loss in his eighth Major League start, when the Dodgers were shut out 2-0 on May 15 vs. New York...he allowed one run on four hits, walked four and fanned four...won his next four decisions to improve to 10-1 with a 3.15 ERA after his first 12 starts...recorded his 10th win in the Dodgers' 61st game, the fastest a Dodger pitcher reached double- figures in wins since Ramon Martinez won his 10th in the Dodgers' 60th game in 1991...was the first pitcher since Tim Hudson in 1999 to begin his rookie season with a 10-1 record, which tied for the best start since Wayne Simpson of Cincinnati started out 13-1 as a rookie in 1970...finished the first half with an 11-5 record and a 3.58 ERA (40/100.2 IP)...won his first game of the second half, defeating Arizona 2-1 at Dodger Stadium, as he allowed no runs on two hits in 7.2 innings...defeated the Expos 5-2 on Aug. 14 at Montreal, allowing two unearned runs in the first inning and then just one hit in his next five-plus innings...picked up his final win of the season and third against Arizona in three attempts on Sept. 3 in Phoenix, allowing no runs in 5.1 innings in a 3-2 victory... struck out 70 and held the opposition to a .211 average at Dodger Stadium...was injured during his start on Sept. 8 vs. Houston when he was struck by a ball off the bat of Brian Hunter on the left side of his forehead in the fourth inning...was immediately transported by ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital and later that night to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, after a nasal fracture was discovered during exams which required surgery...underwent a successful two-hour surgery performed by Dr. John Yu to remove chips in the fracture site and replace them with a small titanium plate...was placed on the disabled list on Sept. 9 and did not pitch again the remainder of the season.
2001
Was 12-6 with a 3.39 ERA and 173 strikeouts in 175.0 innings in his final season in the Japanese League...ranked second in the Central League with a .667 winning percentage, 27 games started and 173 strikeouts...his 3.39 ERA ranked eighth in the Japanese League...helped lead the Swallows to their first Japan Series Championship in four years, defeating the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in the finals...in Game 1 of the Japan Series, he pitched 8.0 shutout innings and carried a no-hitter into the seventh, giving up one hit and striking out 12...the 12 strikeouts tied a Japan Series record and marked the second time in his career that he reached the mark, having also accomplished the feat in 1997.
2000
Went 10-9 with a 2.61 ERA, ranking first among league ERA leaders... led the Central League with 210 strikeouts in 29 games and 183.0 innings pitched.
1999
Was 8-6 with a 4.80 ERA in 23 games in 133.0 innings while fanning 162 batters.
1998
Compiled a 14-6 record with a 3.30 ERA (12th in the league)...his 14 victories and 196.1 innings pitched marked career highs...led the league in strikeouts with 241.
1997
Went 10-4 with 120 strikeouts in 117.2 innings of work, including a no-hitter on Sept. 2 against the Yokohama Bay Stars...missed the first two months of the season rehabilitating from shoulder surgery and fell 18.0 innings short of qualifying for the league ERA title, which he would have won with a 1.91 mark...among pitchers in both the Central and Pacific Leagues with over 100 innings, he had the highest rate of strikeouts per nineinnings (9.18) and the lowest rate of hits (5.58) and home runs (.382) allowed per game...in his only start during the Japan Series, he pitched a 1-0 complete-game shutout, allowing three hits and striking out 12 in Game One against the Seibu Lions...came back and pitched the sixth and seventh innings of Game Five, earning the win while striking out three and allowing one hit en route to the Japan Series championship...finished with a 2-0 record, 0.00 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 11.0 innings pitched, allowing four hits and holding opponents to a .114 batting average in two Japan Series games.
1996
Went 1-5 with a 5.23 ERA in eight games, missing the majority of the year with arm troubles.
1995
Finished the season with a 13-4 mark with one save and a 2.76 ERA, to rank fourth in the league in ERA...his save would be the only one of his 10-year career with Yakult...his 13-4 record led the league in winning percentage (.765)...helped lead Yakult to the Japan Series title over the Orix Blue Wave, marking his third championship in four years.
1994
Went 7-5 with a 4.08 ERA in 54 games and 108.0 innings pitched...struck out 98 batters.
1993
In his second full season with Yakult, was 3-1 with a 4.70 ERA in 19 games and 59.1 innings...the left-hander struck out 66 batters in his 59.1 innings of work...won his second Japan Series title in as many years.
1992
Was 0-0 with a 4.18 ERA in his rookie season with Yakult...earned his first of what would be five Japan Series titles, helping guide the Swallows over the Seibu Lions.
