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 | ||||||||||||||
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Takahashi with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | ||||||||||||||
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – No. 28 | ||||||||||||||
Pitcher | ||||||||||||||
Born: Matsudo, Chiba, Japan | November 2, 1995||||||||||||||
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NPB debut | ||||||||||||||
April 22, 2018, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | ||||||||||||||
NPB statistics (through 2020 season) | ||||||||||||||
Win–loss record | 16-9 | |||||||||||||
ERA | 3.13 | |||||||||||||
Strikeouts | 117 | |||||||||||||
Teams | ||||||||||||||
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Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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Medals
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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]
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.[7]
On October 1, 2019, he was selected at the 2019 WBSC Premier12.[8] He led the tournament in groundouts induced, with 21.[9]
Pitching style
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.[10]
And he throws a curveball, a sinker and a slider. [11]
His pitching style is called Reiwa no Submarine (令和のサブマリン).[12]
- Reiwa is the current era of Japan.
References
- "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.
- "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.
- "Rei Takahashi Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
- "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.
- "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.
- "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.
- "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.
- "「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.
- "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.
- "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.
- "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.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- NPB.jp
- 28 Rei Takahashi PLAYERS2020 - Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site