Tadashi Settsu

From BR Bullpen

TadashiSettsu.jpg

Tadashi Settsu (攝津 正)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 11", Weight 198 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Tadashi Settsu pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 10 years.

Settsu was one of the top performers in the 2007 Baseball World Cup. It was the international debut for the right-hander, who pitched for JR East in the industrial leagues. He went 4-0 with a 0.31 ERA. In 28 1/3 innings, he allowed just 11 hits and one run while fanning 36. Settsu beat the South African national team in his first game on November 7; in the first inning, he gave up his lone score of the event. On November 11, he tossed 8 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits, in a win over Panama, the Bronze Medal winner in 2005. Along with Hasebe Kohhei, he shut out Travis Blackley and Australia in the quarterfinals. He came back on one day rest on November 18 and allowed one hit and no runs in 7 innings against the Dutch national team to win the Bronze Medal Game. He led the Cup in wins (no one else had more than 2), had the second-lowest ERA of anyone to work 10+ innings (behind Kenny Berkenbosch's 0.00) and led in strikeouts (15 more than En-Yu Lin). He was far more dominant than any of the 15+ pitchers who had played or would play in the major leagues. Settsu was the clear choice as the top right-handed pitcher in the event, though he failed to take home Baseball World Cup MVP honors; those went to Jayson Nix.

The SoftBank Hawks selected him in the 5th round of the 2008 NPB draft; the scout was Kazuhide Sakuyama. He debuted on April 5, 2009 with 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Toshiya Sugiuchi. He had a great rookie year, going 5-2 with a 1.47 ERA in a Pacific League-high 70 appearances and 34 holds. He was also selected into the 2009 NPB All-Star Game, and he pitched 2/3 of a shutout inning in Game 2. Settsu broke the team record for most games pitched, and he also broke the PL record for most games pitched by a rookie (Yoshiaki Fujioka's 62); he was one game shy from breaking Yasuo Hayashi's NPB record. Tadashi fanned 102 in 79 2/3 IP and allowed only 51 hits (3 home runs). He was named the PL Rookie of the Year and won the NPB Most Valuable Setup Pitcher Award, and he was the first player to win those two awards in the same season.

Settsu extended his solid performance in 2010, and he notched 38 holds with a 2.30 ERA in 71 relief outings. He was the first player to pitch 70 games in back-to-back season since Kazuhisa Inao in 1958-1959, and he led the league in appearances again. Settsu also ranked 2nd in holds (1 behind his teammate Brian Falkenborg), and he won the Most Valuable Setup Pitcher Award again. The Hawks turned him into a starter in 2011, and he was voted into the 2011 NPB All-Star Game. He relieved Tsuyoshi Wada in the 4th inning of Game 3, and he pitched 2 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts (against Shuichi Murata and Yoshiyuki Ishihara). He ended up 14-8 with a 2.79 ERA, and he was 5th in wins (tied with Bobby Keppel), 6th in strikeouts (157, between Yoshihisa Naruse and Chihiro Kaneko) and 9th in ERA (between Masaru Takeda and Kazuyuki Hoashi). He started in the 2011 Nippon Series Game 3, and he pitched 7 innings with only one run allowed to get the win over Maximo Nelson. Settsu added 1 1/3 shutout innings in Game 6 and 7, and the Hawks beat the Chunichi Dragons.

The Miyagi native had his career year in 2012, and he was 17-5 with a 1.91 ERA. He led the league in wins and winning percentage, and he was 3rd in strikeouts (153, between Mitsuo Yoshikawa and Takayuki Kishi) and 3rd in ERA (between Masahiro Tanaka and Kenji Otonari). He won the Sawamura Award, and he was the only pitcher to have won both the Sawamura Award and Most Valuable Setup Pitcher Award in NPB history. He won 212 points in the PL MVP voting, and he was 2nd behind Mitsuo Yoshikawa's 972 points. Settsu then represented Japan in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He pitched 3 innings against Brazil to got the win with a RBI double allowed to Leonardo Reginatto, then he relieved Atsushi Nomi in the 3rd inning against Chinese Taipei when the bases were loaded. He struck out Hung-Yu Lin to escape the jam, and he completed the next two innings with only one run allowed because of Cheng-Min Peng's RBI single. Settsu pitched 2/3 of a shutout inning against Puerto Rico, and Japan won Bronze in the event.

Settsu extended his stellar performance in 2013, and he went 15-8 with a 3.05 ERA. He was 2nd in wins (tied with Takahiro Norimoto and Kaneko), 3rd in strikeouts (146, between Tanaka and Kishi) and 4th in ERA (between Kazuhisa Makita and Kishi). He won one vote in the MVP voting. Settsu became the first Hawks pitcher to win the opening game for three straight years when he won in 2014, and he had a 10-8 record with a 3.90 ERA. He tied Ayumu Ishikawa for 8th in ERA. In the 2014 Nippon Series, Settsu started in Game 5 and pitched 6 shutout innings. The Hawks beat the Hanshin Tigers in 5 games, and Settsu won his second title.

The Softbank standout was 10-7 with a 3.22 ERA in 2015, and he was 7th in wins (tied with Norimoto, Yuki Nishi, Daiki Tohmei, Luis Mendoza and Jason Standridge). He started in the 2015 Nippon Series Game 4, and he pitched 5 innings with 4 runs allowed to beat Shohei Tateyama; the Hawks beat the Yakult Swallows in 5 games. Settsu suffered from injuries in 2016, and he had a 5.59 ERA in 7 starts. He struggled again in 2017 as his ERA was 5.61 in 7 games, and he relieved Ryota Igarashi in the 2017 Nippon Series Game 4. However, he allowed 3 runs in one inning, but he still got his fourth title as the Hawks eliminated the Yokohama BayStars in 6 games. Settsu was 2-4 with a 5.16 ERA in 2017, and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Settsu was 79-49 with a 2.98 ERA, collected 73 holds and one save in 282 appearances, struck out 882 and pitched 1,063 2/3 innings in 10 seasons in NPB. As of 2025, he was tied with Yoshiki Sunada for 99th in holds in NPB history. With an overhand delivery, Settsu threw a solid screwball, slider, curveball and an 86-88 mph four-seam fastball (topped out at 92 mph).

Sources[edit]

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