Naoki Takahashi

From BR Bullpen

NaokiTakahashi.jpg

Naoki Takahashi (高橋 直樹)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 0", Weight 165 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Naoki Takahashi pitched for 18 seasons in Nippon Pro Baseball, making six All-Star teams.

Takahashi played for Nihon Kokan in the industrial leagues after college. The Toei Flyers took him in the third round of the 1967 NPB draft. Debuting with the big club in 1969, he had a 13-13, 2.42 record and 1.02 WHIP. He was 4th in the Pacific League in ERA (behind Masaaki Kitaru, Toshihiko Sei and Koichiro Sasaki), 10th in wins and 8th in strikeouts (122, between Tetsuya Yoneda and Mitsugu Tanaka). The PL Rookie of the Year went to slugger Michiyo Arito instead. In 1970, Takahashi fell to 7-10, 4.00. He was worse yet, at 7-15, 4.24 in 1971 and tied Keishi Suzuki and Masanori Murakami for 3rd in losses. He then saw limited action in 1972, and he went 4-7 with a 4.42 ERA.

In 1973, the Oita native rebounded to 12-9, 3.31 with a 1.10 WHIP. He tied Takenori Emoto, Shigeo Ishii, Takashi Mizutani, Satoshi Niimi and Sanshiro Nishioka for 7th in wins. He threw a one-walk no-hitter against the Kintetsu Buffaloes on June 16 in the second game of a twin bill. Takahashi was 9-11 with a 3.21 ERA and 1.05 WHIP (34 BB in 187 2/3 IP) in 1974. That year, he became the only pitcher in NPB history to get the win and the save in the same game. He had been on the hill and en route for the win when his manager switched him to third base for one play. He then returned to the mound. NPB later adjusted their rules to prevent another player from doing the same thing.

Takahashi was 17-13 with a 2.95 ERA in 1975 and made his first PL All-Star team; he allowed 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning in 1975 NPB All-Star Game 2 through. He finished 10th in the league in ERA, his best finish since his rookie year. He was also 3rd in wins (behind Osamu Higashio and Suzuki) and 3rd in strikeouts (120, tied with Choji Murata) The 31-year-old slipped to 13-14, 3.25 in 1976. In 1977, the veteran was a workhorse, tossing 278 2/3 innings. He had a 17-17, 2.97 record and led the PL in innings pitched and batters faced (1,101). He finished 7th in ERA (between Murata and Takashi Yamaguchi), 2nd in wins (tied with Mitsuo Inaba and Murata) and 2nd in Ks (160, 20 behind Murata). Takahashi made his second All-Star team, and he fanned 4 in 3 shutout innings in the 1977 NPB All-Star Game 2.

1978 was another busy year as Takahashi worked 234 innings; he finished 9-10 with two saves and a 2.88 ERA. He made his third All-Star team and was 5th in ERA, between Manabu Fujita and Murata. He reached two milestones - on April 9, he became the 72nd NPB pitcher to 100 wins (topping the Hankyu Braves) and on July 26, he was the 56th hurler to 1,000 strikeouts.

Naoki had his last big workload in 1979, going 20-11 with four saves and a 2.76 ERA in 254 2/3 innings. He completed 21 of 28 starts and walked just 23 batters for the year. He had 11 walkless complete games, a PL record. Takahashi was also voted into the 1979 NPB All-Star Game, and he was the starter of PL in Game 3. However, he allowed 3 runs in 3 innings, and he gave up 2 dingers, to Sadaharu Oh and Koji Yamamoto. He was third in ERA for the year ( behind Yamaguchi and Hisashi Yamada), 2nd in wins (1 behind Yamada) and 5th in strikeouts (118, between Tomotaka Sugiyama and Yamada). He also led the PL in complete games (tied with Murata) and hits allowed (257).

The control expert was 10-9 with a 4.07 ERA and one save in 1980. He made his fourth straight PL All-Star selection, and he allowed a run in 3 innings in the 1980 NPB All-Star Game 2 so he got the loss. He was then traded to the Hiroshima Carp for Yutaka Enatsu and only pitched 16 games (8 starts) in 1981, going 2-5 with a 3.95 ERA. He pitched a bit more in 1982 (he was traded to the Seibu Lions for Kenji Furusawa and Tetsuya Ohara midseason) and was 7-2 with a save and a 2.40 ERA. He allowed six runs (three earned) in 9 2/3 IP in the 1982 Japan Series, getting no-decisions in games three and six. Seibu won, giving Takahashi a title in his first Japan Series appearance.

Takahashi made his last All-Star team in 1983, and he allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings in Game 3. He was 13-3 with a 3.03 ERA and 23 walks in 142 2/3 innings, and he finished second in the league in ERA (behind only Higashio, his highest ranking ever) and 8th in wins. In the 1983 Japan Series, the Waseda alumnus dropped games 2 and 5 to Takashi Nishimoto and the Yomiuri Giants. He did not pitch badly, with a 2.16 ERA, but Nishimoto was better; Seibu won 4 of the other 5 games, though, to take the Series. The right-hander only pitched ten games in 1984, struggling at 2-3, 7.01. He was 7-6 with a 4.35 ERA in 1985, now 40 years old. He lost games 2 and 6 of the 1985 Japan Series to Rich Gale and the Hanshin Tigers as Seibu fell in six. This time, he did not pitch well, with a 9.53 ERA and three home runs in just 5 2/3 IP. Moving to Yomiuri in 1986, he wrapped up his career with five runs in 8 1/3 IP. After his playing career ended, Takahashi remained active in baseball. He has been a baseball commentator for NTV and NHK and coached for the Yokohama BayStars.

Overall, Takahashi had gone 169-158 with 13 saves and a 3.32 ERA in 493 NPB games (404 starts). He had a 1.11 WHIP, walking 473 in 2,872 2/3 innings. He had 141 complete games, including 36 walkless complete games. As of 2025, he ranked among NPB's career leaders in losses (tied for 21st with Enatsu), complete games (tied for 28th with Mitsuhiro Adachi and Yoshinori Sato), walkless complete games (tied for 9th with Manabu Kitabeppu), innings (31st, between Shoichi Ono and Tokuji Kawasaki), earned runs (1,060, 22nd between Nobuyuki Hoshino and Takehiko Bessho) and ERA (61st, between Masaji Hiramatsu and Hiromu Matsuoka).

Sources[edit]

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