is a Japanese professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

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).

Career

Taira was drafted by the

with the team’s fourth selection in the 2017 Nippon Professional Baseball draft out of Yaeyama Commercial High School. Taira spent the 2018 season with Seibu’s farm team, posting a 5.40 ERA in 10 appearances. On July 19, 2019, Taira made his

debut. He finished this season with a 2-1 record and 3.38 ERA in 26 appearances. The following season, Taira played in 54 games for Seibu, posting a stellar 1.87 ERA in 53.0 innings of work. Because of his efforts, Taira was named the 2020 Pacific League Rookie of the Year. On June 28, 2021, Taira tied the NPB record for consecutive mound appearances without giving up a run, with 38, a record also held by former

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 Railwa ...

pitcher

Kyuji Fujikawa is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Fujikawa pitched in the 2006 and 2009 World Ba ...

. On July 1, Taira passed Fujikawa and set a new NPB record by making his 39th consecutive mound appearance without giving up a run. Taira’s streak ended at 39 on July 6, when he allowed an RBI hit to

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, 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 Figh ...

hitter Yuto Takahama. In 2021, Taira was named an NPB All-Star for the first time in his career.

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp
1999 births Living people Baseball people from Okinawa Prefecture Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Saitama Seibu Lions players Nippon Professional Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic baseball players of Japan Olympic medalists in baseball Olympic gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics {{Japan-baseball-pitcher-stub