Rei Takahashi

Rei Takahashi (高橋 礼, Takahashi Rei, born November 2, 1995 in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Rei Takahashi
Takahashi with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – No. 28
Pitcher
Born: (1995-11-02) November 2, 1995
Matsudo, Chiba, Japan
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
NPB debut
April 22, 2018, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
NPB statistics
(through 2022 season)
Win–loss record17-10
ERA3.62
Holds23
Strikeouts133
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Japan
WBSC Premier12
Gold medal – first place 2019 Tokyo Team

Professional career

On October 26, 2017, Takahashi was drafted by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the 2017 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.

On April 22, 2018, Takahashi pitched his debut game against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters as a starting pitcher.[1] In 2018 season, he finished the regular season with a 12 Games pitched, a 0–1 Win–loss record, a 3.00 ERA, a 15 strikeouts in 30 innings. And he pitched against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp as a relief pitcher in the 2018 Japan Series.

On March 31, 2019, Takahashi won the game for the first time in the Pacific League.[2] Through 2019, he was 12-6 with two saves and a 3.34 ERA in 62 games (3 starts).[3] On October 20, he pitched against the Yomiuri Giants as a starting pitcher, and won the game for the first time in the Japan Series. And he was honored with the 2019 Japan Series Excellent Player Award.[4] On November 26, Takahashi was honored with the 2019 Pacific League Rookie of the Year Award and 2019 Pacific League Speed Up Award in NPB AWARDS 2019.[5][6]

In 2020 season, Takahashi hurt his left thigh during spring training.[7] As a result, he pitched as a relief pitcher in the 2020 season and finished the regular season with a 52 Games pitched, a 4–2 Win–loss record, a 2.65 ERA, a 23 Holds, a 29 strikeouts in 51 innings. In the 2020 Japan Series against the Yomiuri Giants, He pitched in Game 2 and Game 4 as a relief pitcher, with no hits no runs in both games and a Hold in Game 4 to contribute to the team's fourth consecutive Japan Series champion.[8][9]

In 2021, takahashi finished the regular season with 11 Games pitched, a 1–1 Win–loss record, a 5.82 ERA, a 14 strikeouts in 34 innings.

In 2022, he pitched only 4 Games, a 0–0 Win–loss record, a 13.50 ERA, a 2 strikeouts in 3.1 innings.

International career

Takahashi represented the Japan national baseball team in the 2015 Summer Universiade, 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series, 2019 exhibition games against Mexico, and 2019 WBSC Premier12 tournament.

On October 18, 2018, he was selected at the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.[10]

On October 1, 2019, he was selected at the 2019 WBSC Premier12.[11] He led the tournament in groundouts induced, with 21.[12]

Pitching style
Takahashi delivers a pitch with a submarine motion in 2018.

Takahashi is a tall pitcher and he has a style of delivery that transitions from starting at windup position with his baseball glove raised above the head to finishing submarine with a low release point.

He throws a fastball of over 140 km/h (87 mph) (tops out at 146 km/h, 90.7 mph) unusual for submarine pitchers.[13]

And he throws a curveball, a sinker and a slider. [14]

His pitching style is called Reiwa no Submarine (令和のサブマリン).[15]

References
  1. "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク２位高橋礼「緊張」初先発は４回３失点". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). April 22, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  2. "Nishinippon Shimbun baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク2年目高橋礼、柳田に念じたらプロ初白星". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). March 31, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  3. "Rei Takahashi Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  4. "Nippon Professional Baseball (Japanese) SMBC日本シリーズ2019 表彰選手 優秀選手賞". NPB.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  5. "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) 新人王ソフトバンク高橋礼が自信持った日本Ｓ巨人戦". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). November 27, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  6. "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) 高橋礼スピードアップ賞「テンポの良さはつながる」". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). November 27, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  7. "Nishinippon Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク高橋礼、復帰へまずは「ランニング」から". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  8. "Nippon Professional Baseball (Japanese) 2020年度SMBC日本シリーズ 試合結果 (第2戦)". NPB.jp (in Japanese). November 22, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  9. "Nippon Professional Baseball (Japanese) 2020年度SMBC日本シリーズ 試合結果 (第4戦)". NPB.jp (in Japanese). November 25, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  10. "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) ＤｅＮＡ東が侍辞退、ソフトバンク高橋礼を追加招集". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). October 18, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  11. "「ENEOS 侍ジャパンシリーズ2019」出場選手決定について". 野球日本代表 侍ジャパン オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  12. "II Premier12 2019 - the official site - WBSC".
  13. "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク高橋礼、球宴で速球派サブマリン称号を". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). July 1, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  14. "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク高橋礼が変化球磨き１勝 目標山田さん". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). March 31, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  15. "Sports Nippon baseball news (Japanese) ソフトB 高橋礼ガッツポーズ「令和のサブマリン」になる". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). April 1, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
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