Tadahito Iguchi
Kawasaki hit .367 in the Western League the following year (2002), winning the batting title despite falling short of the required number of plate appearances because of league regulations. He got the first hit of his career on June 15 against right-hander Jeremy Powell, then of the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes, and his first stolen base on June 19 against the Seibu Lions. He was called up to the "ichigun" team again in September to fill in for Tadahito Iguchi as the team's regular second baseman while Iguchi missed time due to injury and also played in the 15th IBAF International Cup as a member of the Japanese national team.