Phillies: What happened to 2007 hero Tadahito Iguchi?

Tadahito Iguchi, the Phillies’ first Asian-born player, played a crucial role in the team’s most recent postseason success; where is he now?

July 26, 2007, was the day that changed the course of Philadelphia Phillies history. Chase Utley became injured, requiring the need to trade for Chicago White sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi in exchange for minor-league pitcher Michael Dubee, the son of Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee.

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Iguchi, the first Asian-born player to ever join the Phillies, had big shoes to fill in Utley, who at the time was producing MVP-caliber statistics but was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career after being struck in the hand by eventual Phillie John Lannan, then of the Washington Nationals.

In 100 games, Utley had slashed .336/.414/.581 with 41 doubles, 17 home runs, 82 RBI, 40 walks, and 68 strikeouts spanning 462 plate appearances.

Similar to how Eagles fans felt when Carson Wentz went down during the 2017 Super Bowl season, Iguchi compares to Nick Foles in that they got the job done to the best of their ability. In 27 games as a starter in Utley’s absence, Iguchi hit .301/.357/.425 with eight doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, and 10 walks. Overall, in 45 games, he hit .304 with 13 extra-base hits.

Before joining the Phillies, the Japanese native had been just a .273 career major league hitter. Iguchi found new life in red pinstripes, and helped the Phillies continue their magical run toward topping the New York Mets and qualify for the postseason for the first time since 1993.

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Iguchi stepped in again as a September 2008 free agent signee, the second time the team had acquired him in 14 months; he hit .286 in four late-season games.

While he was ineligible to play in the postseason that year since he signed after September 1, who know, without the “Iguchi magic,” in 2007 and 2008, do the Phillies still come together as World Series champions? Not to mention, he helped the Chicago White Sox to a World Series championship in 2005 during his major league rookie season.

So, where is Iguchi now?

After his second stint with the Phillies, Iguchi returned to Japan to play nine more seasons for the Chiba Lotte Marines up until he was 42 years of age in 2017; in total, his professional baseball career spanned 21 years. Combined, he produced 2,258 hits and 297 home runs, while slashing .270/.354/.440 across 2,411 games.

Right when he retired, Iguchi became manager of the Marines; just as he was the first Asian-born player to play for the Phillies, Iguchi became the first former Japanese major leaguer to manage in Nippon Professional Baseball.

In his first year, Iguchi turned a 52-win team into a 60-win team; in 2019, the Marines finished with 73 wins, their most since 2013.

“When we finished last [in 2017], I considered what might be done to build a team that is an established winner five and 10 years down the road,” Iguchi told Kyodo News. “The decision to manage was not easy, but I’d established good communication with the players while I was their teammate, so I thought that side of things would make the transition easier.”

Iguchi remains the Marines manager for 2020, but like most other sports on the world, the season remains on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He will always be remembered by Phillies fans for being the “Nick Foles” of the Phillies during the very beginning of the postseason window. Sure, Iguchi did not do anything close to a “Philly Special” play on the biggest stage, but without him, the franchise could very will be stuck on their lone 1980 championship.