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 ...

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 ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Texas Rangers, and in

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) for 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 ...

and 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 ...

Career

On November 30, 2010, Tateyama signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers. After starting 2011 in the minor leagues, he was called up to the Rangers on May 23, 2011, and made his major league debut on May 24, 2011. He struck out

Carlos Quentin Carlos José Quentin (born August 28, 1982) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres. In 2008 and 2011, Quentin was sel ...

out swinging for his first major league strikeout. On May 28, 2011, Tateyama recorded his one and only MLB save during a 10-1 Rangers victory over the Royals.

Koji Uehara is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), as well as the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (M ...

was his teammate in high school. In that time, Tateyama was an ace pitcher and Uehara was an outfielder. In the 2011–2012 offseason, the Rangers signed Japan's best starting pitcher

Yu Darvish , more commonly known as Yu Darvish (ダルビッシュ有), is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Darvish has also played in MLB for the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and ...

to a 5-year deal. Tateyama and Darvish were previously teammates for 5 seasons on the

. He became a free agent on October 30, 2012, when the Rangers declined his 2013 option. He was re-signed by Texas on December 20, 2012. He was then released in March 2013. He was traded to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in June 2013. In May 2014, the Yankees released Tateyama, and he returned to Japan to sign with the

on June 25, 2014. On November 1, 2014, he announced his retirement from professional baseball after making 8 appearances for the Tigers. After the retirement, he became

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 Sof ...

pitching coach at the 2017 Asia Professional Baseball Championship, 2018 exhibition game against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup and 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.

Pitching style

A sidearm pitcher, Tateyama relied chiefly on a sinking fastball that averaged 87–88 mph and a curveball in the low 70s. He also featured two other off-speed pitches, a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

(74–78 mph) and a

screwball A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known a ...

(68–71 mph), that were used mostly against left-handed batters. The screwball is thrown with a "

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

" grip. He was one of only two relief pitchers to have thrown even a single screwball in the 2012 MLB season. While his strikeout totals were average, he got hitters out with his control (career 2.11 BB/9 in NPB).

References

External links

*
Yoshinori Tateyama, JapaneseBallPlayers.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tateyama, Yoshinori 1975 births Living people Hanshin Tigers players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Japanese baseball coaches Japanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Japan Nippon Ham Fighters players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Round Rock Express players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players People from Daitō, Osaka Baseball people from Osaka Prefecture Texas Rangers players Nippon Professional Baseball coaches