Nippon-Ham-Nao Miyanishi pitcher Hisao Miyanishi (40) participated in the "CLUB MIZUNO Yumekyu Talk Live" held in Kita-ku, Osaka City on the 4th, along with Yakult Swallows pitcher Masanori Ishikawa (45).
This season, Miyanishi's 18th in the NPB, saw him pitch in 31 games, recording one win and one loss, 12 hold, and ERA 3.20. On September 23rd, in a game Rakuten Eagles (ESCON), he became the fourth player in NPB history to reach 900 appearances. He's now within striking distance of the NPB record of 1,002 appearances held by Hideki Iwase (Chunichi), and Pacific League record of 949 appearances held by Tetsuya Yoneda (Hankyu, Kintetsu). On May 15th, in a game against Orix Buffaloes (ESCON), he extended his consecutive relief appearance streak to 880 games, surpassing Iwase's previous record of 879 games, breaking the professional baseball record.
With next season approaching and Ishikawa turning 46 in January, and Central League adopting DH system from 2027, he has set an unusual goal: "I really enjoy picking up a bat and stepping up to the plate as the ninth hitter, so I'm a little sad that next year will be the last. I'm looking forward to having fun over the next year, and I'd like to hit home run, as I've never done so before."
On the other hand, Miyanishi said with a wry smile, "I would like to hit home run baseball people, but Pacific League don't stand up to bat..." He added, "The idea that the boss (Director Shinjo) might do it, I have to get results, but Toyama, Kasai, Toyama.... I'm sure I'll be able to do it. I have to make sure that I have a left closer, but I think it would be interesting to have something like that, which is not possible nowadays. Realistically, it's almost impossible, but that's the kind of thing I want to leave in my memory," he said.
Toyama, Kasai, Toyama..." was a pitching relay, also known as the "Toyama-Kasunishi Special," that Nomura, then manager of Hanshin Tigers, used frequently in 2000. In this relay, the lefty Toyama and the righty Kasai switched first base pitcher depending on the left and right hitter of the opponent. Matsui Hideki, who was The Giants the mainstay of the team at the time, was particularly uncomfortable with Toyama, and The Giants also suffered.
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