Hirotoshi Ishii

Hirotoshi Ishii (石井 弘寿, September 14, 1977) from Iwasaki, Ichihara, Chiba, Japan, is a Japanese baseball player. He currently plays as a relief pitcher for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. He has repeatedly expressed a desire to play in the majors, and several teams have shown an interest in the left-hander. The Swallows were reluctant to release Ishii in the 2005 off-season, but promised they would allow him to come to the majors if he was able to play another full season in Japan (a similar promise was made to Akinori Iwamura, who signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays). Ishii was expected to sign with a major league team during the 2006 off-season, but injured his left shoulder, and decided to remain with the Swallows.

Hirotoshi Ishii

Hirotoshi Ishii (石井 弘寿, September 14, 1977) from Iwasaki, Ichihara, Chiba, Japan, is a Japanese baseball player. He currently plays as a relief pitcher for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. He has repeatedly expressed a desire to play in the majors, and several teams have shown an interest in the left-hander. The Swallows were reluctant to release Ishii in the 2005 off-season, but promised they would allow him to come to the majors if he was able to play another full season in Japan (a similar promise was made to Akinori Iwamura, who signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays). Ishii was expected to sign with a major league team during the 2006 off-season, but injured his left shoulder, and decided to remain with the Swallows.