Nagisa Arakaki
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
professional
baseball
player. He is currently with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
in Japan
's Nippon Professional Baseball. Despite having one of the best fastballs and sliders of anyone in the league, Arakaki has battled control problems and injuries throughout his career. In 2007, Arakaki set the NPB record for most wild pitches in a season with 21, breaking Kazuhisa Ishii
's record.
Arakaki was first seen at the 1998 Koshien summer tournament, and caught the eyes of many scouts with his fastball and sharp break on his slider. Despite his team not going far in the tournament, he was scouted by the Orix BlueWave and offered a contract. However, Arakaki turned it down stating that he did not intend to play for Orix. Incidentally, Katsutoshi Miwata who scouted Arakaki subsequently jumped to his death from an apartment building.
In both 2008 and 2009, Arakaki has been in and out of the lineup due to persistent shoulder problems. From the end of '07 to late '08, the righty did not win a start, a stretch that spanned from September 17, 2007, to August 28, 2008. In the 2008 campaign, Arakaki finished with a 4-6 record and a 4.18 ERA. The 2009 season was far less kind, as the embattled righty went 0-2 with a 7.91 ERA whilst battling shoulder injuries. He did not pitch at the Major League level in 2010, and he only pitched in 10 games at ni-gun, going 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA, 30 walks and 35 strikeouts in 48 innings.
, as he set the NPB record for wild pitches in 2007, a record that had been previously held by Kazuhisa Ishii
, who was also a power pitcher with great breaking balls, but was also well known for his control problems.
Recently, Arakaki's career has been plagued by recurrent shoulder and elbow problems. He had elbow surgery performed on him in the 2008 offseason, and had shoulder surgery in December 2009.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player. He is currently with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
The are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's Nippon Professional Baseball. Despite having one of the best fastballs and sliders of anyone in the league, Arakaki has battled control problems and injuries throughout his career. In 2007, Arakaki set the NPB record for most wild pitches in a season with 21, breaking Kazuhisa Ishii
Kazuhisa Ishii
Kazuhisa Ishii is a Japanese former Major League Baseball pitcher who currently plays for the Saitama Seibu Lions....
's record.
Arakaki was first seen at the 1998 Koshien summer tournament, and caught the eyes of many scouts with his fastball and sharp break on his slider. Despite his team not going far in the tournament, he was scouted by the Orix BlueWave and offered a contract. However, Arakaki turned it down stating that he did not intend to play for Orix. Incidentally, Katsutoshi Miwata who scouted Arakaki subsequently jumped to his death from an apartment building.
In both 2008 and 2009, Arakaki has been in and out of the lineup due to persistent shoulder problems. From the end of '07 to late '08, the righty did not win a start, a stretch that spanned from September 17, 2007, to August 28, 2008. In the 2008 campaign, Arakaki finished with a 4-6 record and a 4.18 ERA. The 2009 season was far less kind, as the embattled righty went 0-2 with a 7.91 ERA whilst battling shoulder injuries. He did not pitch at the Major League level in 2010, and he only pitched in 10 games at ni-gun, going 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA, 30 walks and 35 strikeouts in 48 innings.
Pitching Style
When he was drafted, Arakaki was considered one of the best pure power pitchers in the league, with a fastball that could consistently sit in 90-93 mph, and went as high as 155 km/h (96 mph) with an excellent slider that had late downward break. However, control has always been Arakaki's Achilles' heelAchilles' heel
An Achilles’ heel is a deadly weakness in spite of overall strength, that can actually or potentially lead to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, metaphorical references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to downfall are common.- Origin :In Greek...
, as he set the NPB record for wild pitches in 2007, a record that had been previously held by Kazuhisa Ishii
Kazuhisa Ishii
Kazuhisa Ishii is a Japanese former Major League Baseball pitcher who currently plays for the Saitama Seibu Lions....
, who was also a power pitcher with great breaking balls, but was also well known for his control problems.
Recently, Arakaki's career has been plagued by recurrent shoulder and elbow problems. He had elbow surgery performed on him in the 2008 offseason, and had shoulder surgery in December 2009.