Takashi Kita

Takashi Kita (喜多 隆志)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 171 lb.

• School Keio University
• High School Chiben Wakayama High School

• Born February 6, 1980 in Ikoma, Nara Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Takashi Kita was an outfielder for the Chiba Lotte Marines.

Kita helped his high school win the 1997 summer Koshien tournament. He represented Japan in the 1996 Asia Junior Championship. As a senior, he hit .535 to set a new Tokyo Big Six University League record. He made the Best Nine three times in college.

In the 2001 Asian Championship, Kita helped the Japanese national team win a Bronze Medal. He joined Yuan-Chia Chen and Yong-taik Park on the All-Tournament outfield. Kita was picked by the Chiba Lotte Marines in the first round in the 2001 NPB draft.

Kita suffered a broken bone in his left ankle and could not play as a rookie until the end of April . His first hit came in drastic fashion, with a game-winning single in the 9th off the Daiei Hawks' Kazuhiko Iijima. His second hit was also a game-winning, game-ending hit, the first player ever to accomplish that with his first two pro hits.

Kita finished the 2002 season with just a .220/.264/.280 batting line in 19 games, with 3 RBI altogether. He was1 for 3 with a walk and a run in the 2002 Intercontinental Cup, backing up Osamu Hamanaka in center. He hit .234/.250/.298 in 34 games in 2003. Overall, he batted .227/.257/.298 in 97 AB and 53 games in Nippon Pro Baseball. He never played in NPB after 2003 and was released by the Marines in 2006.

Sources

• Japan Baseball Daily by Gary Garland
• Chinese Wiki Baseball's page on the 2001 Asian Championship
• Old IBAF site