How Tadahito Iguchi Saved the Phillies 2007 Division Championship

Second Baseman Tadahito (Tad) Iguchi was the first ever Japanese player to don a Phillies uniform. He did so on July 28, 2007. He came to the Phillies in an emergency trade with the Chicago White Sox made necessary because All Star second baseman and soul of the team, Chase Utley, had been hit by a pitch that broke his right ring finger. The injury would require surgery and Utley would be out for an undetermined period of time. At the time, the Phillies were in second place tied with Atlanta four games behind the New York Mets.

Everyone recognized that Utley was impossible to replace, but management thought the 32 year-old, soon-to-be free agent Iguchi was the best player available. He did not disappoint. Iguchi reached base by hit or walk in the first 14 games he played for the Phillies. He had 21 hits in those 14 games for a .362 average. On July 30th, he had two hits, including a home run in a 4-1 win over the Cubs. On August 5th, he contributed three hits and scored two runs in a 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. 

When Utley returned to the lineup on August 27th, Iguchi was relegated to the bench for the first time in his professional career (eight years in Japan and three in the US). That night, in his first appearance as a pinch hitter for the Phillies, he launched a two run home run in a vital 9-2 win over the division leading Mets. Three days later, on August 30th, Iguchi scored the winning run in the Phillies thrilling 11-10 come from behind win that completed a four game sweep of the Mets and propelled the Phils to the division championship one month later. In that game, Iguchi had a pinch hit RBI single in the ninth to tie the game. He then stole second base and scored the winning run when none other than Chase Utley singled him home.

Throughout September, Iguchi served as a key pinch hitter and occasional replacement for Utley at second base. On the last day of the season, with the Phillies needing a win to take the division championship from the Mets, Iguchi had a sixth inning pinch hit sacrifice fly that lengthened the Phillies lead to 5-1 in a game they eventually won by a score of 6-1, garnering their first division championship in 14 years. It is hard to see how they could have done this without Iguchi's contributions. In his 45 games with the Phils, he slashed .304/.361/.442 and played flawlessly in the field, recording a 1.000 fielding percentage and turning 30 double plays. 

Iguchi appeared three times as a pinch hitter in the Division Series, walking twice, as the Phillies bowed out of the playoffs with three straight losses to the Colorado Rockies. A free agent, he signed a one year deal with the San Diego Padres, where he had an off year in 2008 and was released on September 1. The Phillies picked him up for the stretch drive and he appeared in four games for the Phillies in that Championship year. Iguchi was not eligible for post season play because he was signed after September 1, but he received a much deserved World Series ring anyway.

In 2009, Iguchi returned to Japan, where he played 9 more seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines. Retiring at 42 years of age, he is now the manager of the Chiba Lotte team.