is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

Professional career

On October 27, 2011, Takeda was drafted by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as their first overall pick in the 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.

2012–2015 season

On July 7, 2012, Takeda pitched his debut game against the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...

as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, and won the game for the first time in the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

. He finished the 2012 season with 11 Games pitched, a 8–1 Win–loss record, a 1.07 ERA, a 67 strikeouts in 67 innings. On November 20, he was honored with the 2012 Pacific League Excellent rookie award. In 2013, Takeda finished the regular season with a 17 Games pitched, a 4–4 Win–loss record, a 3.48 ERA, a 56 strikeouts in 93 innings. In 2014, Takeda developed pain in the right shoulder during spring camp and spent half a year in rehabilitation. On August 6, he made a comeback and pitched against the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

. He finished the regular season with a 7 Games pitched, a 3–3 Win–loss record, a 1.87 ERA, a 43 strikeouts in innings. On October 26, he pitched against the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

as a starting pitcher, and won the game for the first time in the

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

. And he was honored with the 2014 Japan Series Excellent Player Award. On November 7, Takeda was selected as the

Japan national baseball team The is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009, as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Softb ...

for 2014 MLB Japan All-Star Series. And on November 20, he pitched against the MLB All-Stars as a starting pitcher, and won the game for the first time in the

MLB Japan All-Star Series The MLB Japan All-Star Series is an irregular end-of-the-season tour of Japan made by an All-Star team from Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1986, contested in a best-of format against the All-Stars from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) or ...

. In 2015, Takeda finished the regular season with a 25 Games pitched, a 13–6 Win–loss record, a 3.17 ERA, a 163 strikeouts in innings. On October 24, he pitched against the

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

as a starting pitcher, and won the game in the 2015 Japan Series. And he was honored with the 2015 Japan Series Excellent Player Award.

2016–2020 season

In 2016, Takeda finished the regular season with 27 Games pitched, a 14–8 Win–loss record, a 2.95 ERA, a 144 strikeouts in 183 innings. On February 4, 2017, Takeda was selected as the Japan national baseball team for

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

. On April 14, he developed inflammation of the right shoulder and spent rehabilitation until summer. He finished the 2017 season with 13 Games pitched, a 6–4 Win–loss record, a 3.68 ERA, a 60 strikeouts in 71 innings. On October 31, he pitched against the

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its c ...

as a starting pitcher in the 2017 Japan Series. In 2018, Takeda finished the regular season with 27 Games pitched, a 4–9 Win–loss record, a 4.48 ERA, a one Saves, a 87 strikeouts in innings. And he pitched as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

against the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda ...

in the

2018 Japan Series The 2018 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2018'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2018 season. The 69th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff betwee ...

. In 2019, Takeda finished the regular season with 32 Games pitched, a 5–3 Win–loss record, a 4.55 ERA, a one Saves, a 9 Holds, a 70 strikeouts in 83 innings. And he was selected as the Japan Series roster in the 2019 Japan Series. In 2020, Takeda finished the regular season with 7 Games pitched, a 2–2 Win–loss record, a 6.48 ERA, a 23 strikeouts in 25 innings. In the 2020 Japan Series against the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

, he was selected as the Japan Series roster.

2021 season–present

In 2021 season, Takeda was pitching as a starting pitcher from the start of the season, but he developed

tenosynovitis Tenosynovitis is the inflammation of the fluid-filled sheath (called the synovium) that surrounds a tendon, typically leading to joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. Tenosynovitis can be either infectious or noninfectious. Common clinical manifest ...

in his right hand in an interleague game and spent the season in rehabilitation. he recorded with a 12 Games pitched, a 4–5 Win–loss record, a 2.68 ERA, and a 73 strikeouts in 77.1 innings. In 2022 season, he delayed his comeback in July with enthesitis of the

latissimus dorsi muscle The latissimus dorsi () is a large, flat muscle on the back that stretches to the sides, behind the arm, and is partly covered by the trapezius on the back near the midline. The word latissimus dorsi (plural: ''latissimi dorsorum'') comes from L ...

, and spent time in rehabilitation in August with inflammation of the ligaments in his right elbow. he finished the regular season with a 10 Games pitched, a 2–1 Win–loss record, a 2.57 ERA, and a 34 strikeouts in 28 innings.

International career

On October 9, Takeda was selected as the Japan national baseball team for

2015 WBSC Premier12 The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan. The South Korean ...

. February 2, 2017, Takeda was elected to the Japan national baseball team at the

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp
- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Takeda, Shota 1993 births Living people Baseball people from Miyazaki Prefecture Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2017 World Baseball Classic players