Takayuki Kishi ( ja, 岸孝之, born December 4, 1984, in

Taihaku-ku, Sendai is the southernmost ward of the city Sendai, in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the ward had a population of 226,069 and a population density of 1470 persons per km2 in 102,728 households. The total area of the ward was . Taihaku-ku is eleventh lar ...

) is a Japanese 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 t ...

player for the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping ...

of the

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 ...

(NPB). He previously played for 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 ...

. He was the 2008 Japan Series MVP.

Career

Saitama Seibu Lions

In his first three seasons as a professional, Kishi has recorded at least 10 wins every season, thrown at least 2 complete games every season, and has multiple shutouts in two of his first three seasons. With an overhand delivery Kishi throws a four-seam fastball in high 80s (tops out at 93 mph), changeup, slider and a solid-average curveball around 70 mph.

2008 Japan Series

Kishi showed that even though he was young, he could handle the atmosphere of 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 also demonstrated his rubber arm. His first appearance in the Series was when he started Game 4 at the Seibu Dome. The second-year pro dominated the heavily favored

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 ...

for a complete-game shutout, striking out at least one batter every inning and throwing a whopping 147 pitches in the process. Kishi also became the second pitcher ever to have at least one strikeout every inning in a complete game effort. In an ironic twist, the first was former Giants pitcher

Takashi Nishimoto is a Japanese baseball coach and retired pitcher. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants, Chunichi Dragons, and Orix Blue Wave from 1976 through 1993. In 1981, Nishimoto won the Eiji Sawamura Award. Winning the ...

in the

1981 Japan Series The 1981 Japan Series was the 32nd edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. It matched the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants against the Pacific League champion Nippon-Ham Fighters. All games in the series we ...

against the

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 s ...

. Kishi also became the 12th pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout in his first career Japan Series start, with the last one before him being

Shunsuke Watanabe is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. His submarine pitching form was noted during the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Amateur career Watanabe began baseball at age 6, and began throwing underhanded during middle school at the sugge ...

in the

2005 Japan Series The Japan Series, the 56th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's championship series, began on October 22 and ended on October 26, and matched the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers against the Pacific League Champion, Chiba Lotte Marin ...

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 ...

. In Game 6 two days later, Kishi was called upon again, this time to save the Lions' season. He replaced Lions starter

Kazuyuki Hoashi is a Japanese 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 ...

and, on just two days' rest, threw 91 pitches in 5 and 2/3 scoreless innings as Seibu rallied to force Game 7. Kishi got the win in relief and also set a new Series record for consecutive scoreless innings at 14 and 2/3.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

He was selected .

International career

Kishi represented 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 ...

in the

2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series The 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series was the twelfth edition of the MLB Japan All-Star Series, a best-of-six series between an All-Star team from Major League Baseball (MLB) and for the second time in series history, the Japanese national team, Sam ...

and

2019 WBSC Premier12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship ...

. On October 10, 2018, he was selected at the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series. On October 1, 2019, he was selected at the 2019 WBSC Premier12.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kishi, Takayuki 1984 births Living people Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Saitama Seibu Lions players Seibu Lions players Baseball people from Sendai Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players