Shota Takeda


Shota Takeda is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

Professional career

On October 27, 2011, Takeda was drafted by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks first overall pick in the 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.
On July 7, 2012, Takeda pitched his debut game against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters as a starting pitcher, and won the game for the first time in the Pacific League.
In 2012 season, he finished the regular season with a 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 2011 Pacific League Excellent rookie award.
In 2013 season, 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 season, 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. He finished the regular season with a 7 Games pitched, a 3–3 Win–loss record, a 1.87 ERA, a 43 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings. On October 26, he pitched against the Hanshin Tigers as a starting pitcher, and won the game for the first time in the Japan 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 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.
In 2015 season, Takeda finished the regular season with a 25 Games pitched, a 13–6 Win–loss record, a 3.17 ERA, a 163 strikeouts in 164 2/3 innings. On October 24, he pitched against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 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.
On October 9, Takeda was selected as the Japan national baseball team for 2015 WBSC Premier12.
In 2016 season, Takeda finished the regular season with a 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. On April 14, he developed inflammation of the right shoulder and spent rehabilitation until summer. In 2017 season, he finished the regular season with a 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 as a starting pitcher in the 2017 Japan Series.
In 2018 season, Takeda finished the regular season with a 27 Games pitched, a 4–9 Win–loss record, a 4.48 ERA, a one Saves, a 87 strikeouts in 124 2/3 innings. And he pitched as a relief pitcher against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in the 2018 Japan Series.
In 2019 season, Takeda finished the regular season with a 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.