Masaru Takeda

From BR Bullpen

MasaruTakeda.jpeg

Masaru Takeda (武田 勝)

  • Bats Left, Throws Left
  • Height 5' 9", Weight 154 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Masaru Takeda pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 11 years.

Takeda was undrafted out of college, graduating in 2001. He signed on with Shidax of the industrial leagues, where he teamed with Takahiko Nomaguchi on the hill and was managed by Katsunori Nomura. In the 2005 Baseball World Cup, Takeda helped Japan finish 5th. He was 1-0 and allowed one unearned run in 7 innings while fanning 14; most of the dominance was against the weak Czech national team (5 IP, 11 K, 1 H, 0 R) as he beat future Twins farmhand Jakub Toufar. Takeda was drafted by the Nippon Ham Fighters in the 4th round of the 2006 NPB draft. He had a good rookie year, going 5-2 with a save and a 2.04 ERA as a swingman; he walked only 15 in 84 innings. He had the top ERA on a team that included Hideki Okajima, Micheal Nakamura, Tomoya Yagi and Yu Darvish. In the 2006 Japan Series, Takeda helped Nippon Ham win its first title by starting and winning game 3 against the Chunichi Dragons, allowing only one run in 5 innings despite 8 hits.

In 2007, Takeda was 9-4 with a 2.54 ERA in 15 starts and 20 relief stints. He only walked 17 in 149 innings while allowing a .214 average. He finished 6th in the Pacific League in ERA though he was only third on his own team behind Darvish and Ryan Glynn. Takeda did surrender 18 gopher balls, tied for 2nd in the PL. In the 2007 Japan Series, he got the third start but was bombed in a loss. Takeda hit Chunichi leadoff man Masahiro Araki, then retired Hirokazu Ibata before the wheels really came off. He walked Masahiko Morino, gave up a RBI single to Tyrone Woods then a RBI double to Norihiro Nakamura. Byung-kyu Lee doubled to make it 3-0 and Takeda was relieved by Brian Sweeney; both inherited runners scored and Takeda finished with a 135.00 ERA for the Series. The 3 straight hits began a stretch of 7 hits in 7 at-bats that set a Japan Series record. Nippon Ham lost the 2007 Series.

Takeda was 8-7 with a 2.96 ERA in 2008, and he missed several games due to a finger injury. He then went 10-9 with a 3.55 ERA in 2009, and he tied Kazuhisa Ishii and Satoshi Komatsu for 6th in losses. Takeda surrendered 3 runs in 6 innings in the 2009 Nippon Series Game 1, and Dicky Gonzalez got the win over him. He then completed 7 2/3 innings with only 2 runs allowed in Game 6, but he got his second loss of the series (this one to Tetsuya Utsumi) and the Yomiuri Giants defeated the Fighters. He extended his stable performance in 2010, and he went 14-7 with a 2.41 ERA in 26 starts. He was 4th in wins (tied with Hideaki Wakui) and 2nd in ERA (only behind Darvish's 1.78).

The Aichi native was selected into the 2011 NPB All-Star Game, and he relieved Hayato Terahara in the 4th inning of Game 1. However, he was completely destroyed by the CL batters. Takeda retired Nori Aoki and Kazuhiro Hatakeyama first, then Shuichi Murata hit an infield single. Wladimir Balentien gave the CL their first run with a RBI double, and he got Hisayoshi Chono to end the inning. Takeda stayed on the mound in the next inning, and he forced Hirokazu Ibata to fly out. Ryoji Aikawa then added a single, and Masahiro Araki blasted a 2-run shot. Takeda's struggles continued as he gave up a single to Matt Murton and a double to Aoki, and Hatakeyama crushed a game-winning 3-run shot. Murata then hit an infield single, and Takeda surrendered back-to-back homers to Balentien and Chono. Yuki Saito finally replaced him, and he set the All-Star record for most runs and homers allowed in a game. Takeda had a 11-12 record with a 2.46 ERA in 2011, and he led the league in losses. He was also 10th in wins (tied with Fumiya Nishiguchi) and 8th in ERA (between Chihiro Kaneko and Tadashi Settsu).

Takeda was 11-7 with a 2.36 ERA in 2012, and he led the league with 28 starts. He was also 7th in wins (tied with Takayuki Kishi), 4th in innings (182 2/3, between Kishi and Kazuhisa Makita) and 6th in ERA (between Seth Greisinger and Makita). He fanned 10 in 6 innings with only a run allowed in the 2012 Nippon Series Game 2, and he was the second Fighters player to get 10 Ks in Nippon Series, following Darvish. Takeda still got the loss because Hirokazu Sawamura completed 8 shutout innings. He then started in Game 6, and he only pitched 2 innings with 3 runs surrendered and the Fighters lost to the Giants. Takeda slumped to 8-7 with a 3.91 ERA in 2013, and he had a 5.98 ERA in 25 games in 2014. Takeda was 3-2 with a 5.84 ERA in 2015, and he announced his retirement in 2016. He managed the Ishikawa Million Stars from 2018 to 2019, and he was a pitching coach for the Fighters from 2020 to 2022. He became the pitching coach for the Oisix Niigata Albirex Baseball Club in 2023, and he was named their new manager in 2025.

Overall, Takeda was 82-61 with a 3.02 ERA, struck out 701 and pitched 1,242 1/3 innings in 11 seasons in NPB.

Sources[edit]

Retrieved from "https://www.baseball-reference.com/bpv/index.php?title=Masaru_Takeda&oldid=1505559"