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 Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He began his professional career in NPB with the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

, and played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

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

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

, and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Career

Nippon Professional Baseball

Takahashi debuted in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

with the

in 2000. He was a finesse starting pitcher in Japan, featuring an 86–89 mph fastball (tops out at 92 mph), slider, curveball, and a screwball as his out pitch.

Major League Baseball

New York Mets

On February 11, 2010, Takahashi signed a minor league contract with the

. Takahashi included a clause in his contract stipulating that the Mets must release him to free agency by October 31, 2010. Takahashi started the 2010 season in the Mets' bullpen. On May 21, he made his first appearance as a starting pitcher against 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) Am ...

, picking up a no decision with 6 scoreless innings. With the loss of Francisco Rodríguez to injury, Takahashi served as the

closer Closer or Closers may refer to: Film and television * ''Closer'' (2000 film), a documentary by Tina Gharavi * ''Closer'' (2004 film), a 2004 adaptation of Patrick Marber's play (see below), directed by Mike Nichols * ''The Closer'', a 1990 mo ...

for the Mets and recorded his first major league save on August 16 against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On December 2, 2010, Takahashi signed a two-year $8 million contract with the

. On July 28, 2012, Takahashi was optioned to the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

to make room for recently acquired starting pitcher

Zack Greinke Donald Zackary Greinke ( ; born October 21, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Greinke last played for the Kansas City Royals, with whom he played across two stints, from his 2004 debut to 2010, and from 202 ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

Takahashi was claimed by the

in August 2012. The Pirates granted Takahashi his unconditional release on October 31, 2012.

Chicago Cubs

On December 27, 2012 he signed a minor league contract with the

that included an invitation to spring training. He made the opening day roster as a relief pitcher. He was designated for assignment on April 16, 2013.

Colorado Rockies

On June 22, 2013 Takahashi was traded to the Rockies for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

. Takahashi elected to become a free agent following the season after compiling a 6.66 ERA over 25.2

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

with the Triple-A

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado R ...

Yokohama DeNA BayStars

Following the 2013 season, Takahashi signed with the

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current n ...

. In September 2015, Takahashi announced that he would retire from baseball following the 2015 season. He failed to record a win in either of his two seasons in Yokohama.

References

External links

NPB.comJapaneseBallPlayers.com: Hisanori Takahashi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takahashi, Hisanori 1975 births Asian Games silver medalists in baseball Asian Games baseball players for Japan Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Baseball players at the 1998 Asian Games Chicago Cubs players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Iowa Cubs players Japanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Komazawa University alumni Living people Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball players from Japan Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games New York Mets players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers People from Sumida Pittsburgh Pirates players Salt Lake Bees players Baseball people from Tokyo Yokohama DeNA BayStars players Yomiuri Giants players