Kensuke Tanaka
From BR Bullpen
Kensuke Tanaka (田中 賢介)
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 5' 9", Weight 168 lb.
- Born May 20, 1981 in Chikushino, Fukuoka Japan
Kensuke Tanaka has been the second baseman for the Nippon Ham Fighters for several years.
Tanaka was a second-round draft pick of Nippon Ham in 2000 and he went 1 for 5 for the team that year. In 2001, the young infielder hit .141/.239/.263 in 116 plate appearances, an inauspicious beginning. The next year, the left-handed hitter batted .253/.298/.348 as one of several second basemen to see regular action with Nippon Ham; he easily outhit Hiroshi Narahara, their main option.
In 2003, Tanaka was one of three Nippon Ham second sackers to appear in 40 or more games and he hit only .216/.268/.304. Tanaka only played 21 games for the Fighters in 2004 (.325/.372/.575) and 22 games for them in 2005 (.208/.321/.333).
Tanaka got his big break in 2006 when free agent signee Jose Macias proved to be a bust and Tanaka finally got the starting nod at second base. He hit .301/.358/.415 and stole 21 bases in 28 tries while leading the Pacific League with 34 sacrifice hits. He was 10th in the PL in runs (68), tied for 5th in triples (6), was 6th in steals and just missed the top 10 in average. He won a Gold Glove and made the Best Nine as the top second baseman in the league. He followed by hitting .313/.313/.375 in the 2006 Japan Series as Nippon Ham won its first Japan Series title ever. Tanaka set a Japan Series record with 6 sacrifice hits.
In 2007, Kensuke fell to .255/.321/.344 and stole 27 but was caught stealing 14 times. He laid down 58 sacrifice hits, leading the PL once more, 23 ahead of anyone else. He tied Munenori Kawasaki for second in the league in triples (7), one behind Daisuke Hayakawa. He tied Tsuyoshi Nishioka for 5th in steals but led in times caught stealing. He again won a Gold Glove and was again named to the Best Nine. He struggled mightily in the 2007 Japan Series, going only 1 for 18.
