Tomoki Takata (高田知季, born May 6, 1990) 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 ...

former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

second baseman, and current the second squad infield defense and base running coach 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. ...

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 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Professional career

On October 25, 2012, Takata was drafted by the

in the

2012 Nippon Professional Baseball draft The 2012 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Draft was held on October 25, , for the 48th time at the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa to assign amateur baseball players to the NPB. It was arranged with the special cooperation of Toshiba with official n ...

2013–2015 season

On March 25, 2013, Takata debuted 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 ...

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 ...

, and he recorded his first

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

on August 6. In the 2013 season, he played in 11 games in the Pacific League. On August 28, 2014, Takata recorded his first RBI hit. In the 2014 season, he played in 12 games in the Pacific League. In the

2014 Japan Series The 2014 Japan Series (known as the '' SMBC Nippon Series 2014'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 65th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) championship series known colloquially as the Japan Series. The best-of-seven playoff was won by ...

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 Railway ...

, he was selected for the Japan Series roster On April 23, 2015, Takada recorded multi hits at a three hits. He recorded his first

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

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 ...

in the

interleague play Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Pr ...

on June 7. In the 2015 season, he finished the regular season in 81 games with a batting average of .237, one home run, an RBI of 11, and 4 stolen bases. In the

2015 Japan Series The 2015 Japan Series was the 66th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, champions of the Pacific League, played the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, champions of the Central League. The Hawks ...

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 ...

, he played in the Japan Series for the first time as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

in Game 5.

2016–2020 season

On September 29, 2016, Takada underwent shoulder surgery. In the 2016 season, he had only played 36 games due to surgery. In the 2017 season, Takada's return to the team was postponed until June 13 due to rehabilitation. On July 18, he was interviewed with a home run and an RBI hit. He finished the regular season in 58 games with a batting average of .228, two home runs, am RBI of 8, and 2 stolen bases. In the

2017 Japan Series The 2017 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2017'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason. The 68th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the F ...

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 ...

, he was selected for the Japan Series roster. Takata hit a two-run home run in a come-from-behind match against the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

on May 4, 2018. In the 2018 season, he finished the regular season in 74 games with a batting average of .188, two home runs, an RBI of 15, and 2 stolen bases. In the

2018 Pacific League Climax Series The 2018 Pacific League Climax Series (PLCS) consisted of two consecutive series, Stage 1 being a best-of-three series and Stage 2 being a best-of-six with the top seed being awarded a one-win advantage. The winner of the series advanced to the 20 ...

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 ...

, he made an

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

, but hitting an RBI hit in Game 2. 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 ...

against the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in 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 founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

, he recorded his first hit in the Japan Series. On June 8, 2019, Takada recorded multi hits at a three hits, against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in the Interleague play. He recorded a

squeeze bunt In baseball, the squeeze play (a.k.a. squeeze bunt) is a maneuver consisting of a sacrifice bunt with a runner on third base. The batter bunts the ball, expecting to be thrown out at first base, but providing the runner on third base an opportun ...

against Saitama Seibu Lions on September 12. He finished the regular season in 93 games with a batting average of .157, an RBI of 10, and 2 stolen bases. In the

2019 Japan Series The 2019 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2019'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2019 season. The 70th edition of the Japan Series, it was played from 19-23 October. Th ...

against the

, he was selected for the Japan Series roster. On May 7, 2020, Takada underwent surgery on his left leg joint. As a result, he was unable to play in the Pacific League for the 2020 season. In the

2020 Japan Series The 2020 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2020'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2020 season. The 71st edition of the Japan Series, it was played from November 21 to 25. ...

against the Yomiuri Giants, he was selected for the Japan Series roster.

2021–2022 season

In the 2021 season, Takata finished the regular season in 61 games with a batting average of .231, an RBI of 2, and one stolen base. In the 2022 season, he appeared in only 17 games. On October 30, Takata announced his retirement after the 2022 season.

After retirement

On October 31, 2022, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks announced that Takata would be the rehabilitation coach from the 2023 season. On December 2, 2023, he was transferred to the second squad infield defense and base running coach.

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp

- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Takata, Tomoki 1990 births Living people Baseball people from Hyōgo Prefecture Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball infielders Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Japanese baseball coaches Nippon Professional Baseball coaches