Photo: slgckgc on Flickr (Original version) UCinternational (Crop) / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Ryota Igarashi threw very hard for a very long time, and that combination is rarer than it sounds. Born in Rumoi, Hokkaidō in 1979, he made his name in the Yakult Swallows bullpen with a fastball that regularly cleared 150 km/h, took his shot in Major League Baseball, pitched for SoftBank after coming home, and eventually returned to Yakult to finish where he began. Our records list no awards for him at all, and that blank space says something honest about relief pitching. Hold the lead and nobody writes it down; give it up and everyone does. Trophies rarely find the seventh and eighth innings. What he built instead was two decades of managers deciding he was the one to hand the ball to in a tight game, which is its own kind of credential. Ending a career with the club that developed you is a rare and satisfying symmetry.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ryota Igarashi
- Name (Japanese)
- 五十嵐亮太
- Born
- May 28, 1979 (age 47)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Goat
- Origin
- Rumoi, Hokkaidō, Japan
- Height
- 178 cm
- Occupation
- baseball player
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Ryota Igarashi born?
Born May 28, 1979 (age 47).
Where is Ryota Igarashi from?
Ryota Igarashi is from Rumoi, Hokkaidō, Japan.
What does Ryota Igarashi do?
Ryota Igarashi works as baseball player.
How tall is Ryota Igarashi?
Ryota Igarashi is 178 cm.
Baseball player — see all → · More people from Japan →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-07-26
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.