MILWAUKEE — Often before games, as his teammates fill the Milwaukee Brewers clubhouse with laughter, hip hop, and other more boisterous personalities, Travis Ishikawa sits quietly at his locker with a pencil in hand, filling out a crossword puzzle.
It's a typical occurrence for one of the Brewers' more soft-spoken, cerebral players. And just like his subdued locker room demeanor might suggest, Ishikawa has very quietly been one of the Brewers' most valuable pieces off the bench.
That's not a role many expected Ishikawa to play in his first season with the Brewers. After all, last season, Ishikawa didn't see a single at-bat in the major leagues. But after leaving the Giants' organization, the Brewers saw something in the unassuming, driven lefty first baseman.
"The bench is a difficult thing," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "You have to piece it together so that it makes sense and it fits what you need."
And after left-handed Mat Gamel went down with an ACL tear, moving righty Corey Hart to first base, Ishikawa suddenly was thrust into a role as the team's most important pinch hitter. With left-handed bats so coveted off the bench, no one has been more reliable than Ishikawa in that role, as he routinely has come up in important situations — especially late in the season — and delivered.
That was never clearer than when Hart went down with a rupture to his plantar fascia on the road against St. Louis in early September with the Brewers at the crux of a serious race for the second NL wild card spot. Without Hart in the lineup, Milwaukee was missing one of its most important run producers.
But with Ishikawa primarily filling in with Hart ailing, he drove in six RBI in seven hits in a span from September 9 to September 21. During that time, the Brewers finished an incredible 9-2.
Roenicke was so sure of Ishikawa's play at the plate that he actually started the left-handed first baseman against left-handed pitchers during that period — a clear vote of confidence for a player who hasn't received many of those in his short career.
"He's been here all year doing it," Roenicke said. "He's been consistent doing it. He's a guy we've tried to match up with pitchers … and he's done a really nice job."
For Ishikawa, that confidence meant a lot, coming from a manager that has seen less than a full season of his work at the plate.
"For Ron to be able to throw me out there, I think it's definitely a confidence booster for me. Obviously, trying to replace a guy like Corey is impossible. I was just trying to hold the fort down until he came back and try to do my best to keep us in the playoff run. It was nice that Ron had confidence in me to play me against the tough lefties and to play a few days in a row."
After being mostly an everyday guy in his final season in San Francisco, the bench wasn't necessarily the place Ishikawa saw himself being a contributor. But he's taken his role and run with it in Milwaukee, ensuring that he'll likely be on the Brewers' bench again next season.
With the Brewers' bench expected to be loaded with young, inexperienced talent next season, Ishikawa's experience and continued consistency could make him a key figure in Milwaukee's strategy in the lineup next season.
"In the National League, you've got to have a good bench," Ishikawa said. "Even if you're not playing every day, you're coming in off the bench in key situations and to pinch hit. … I really feel like it's one of the things that doesn't necessarily get the glory but it can make a difference."
And in 2012, Ishikawa has quietly and unexpectedly proven that sentiment to be true.
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