Hiroaki Takaya

Hiroaki Takaya (高谷 裕亮, born November 13, 1981) is a Japanese former professional baseball catcher, and currently the second squad battery coach for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).[1]

Hiroaki Takaya
Takaya with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – No. 84
Catcher / Coach
Born: (1981-11-13) November 13, 1981
Oyama, Tochigi, Japan
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
NPB debut
April 17, 2007, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Last NPB appearance
October 25, 2021, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
NPB statistics
(through 2021 season)
Batting average.194
Home runs10
RBI101
Hits201
Stolen base1
Sacrifice bunt53
Teams
As player

As coach

  • Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (2022–present)
Career highlights and awards

He previously played for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Professional career

On November 21, 2006, Takaya was drafted by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the 2006 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.[2]

2007–2010 season

On April 17, 2007, he debuted in the Pacific League against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.[3] In 2007 season, he finished the regular season in 12 games with a Batting average of .130 and a RBI of 5.

In the 2008 season, he played as a starting member from July 8 in the second half of the season. On July 17, he recorded his first Home run and walk-off hit.[4] And he finished the regular season in 62 games with a batting average of .180, 2 home runs and a RBI of 13.

On April 3, 2009, he played as a starting member in the opening game for the first time.[5]

2011–2015 season

In the 2011 season, Takaya was selected as the Japan Series roster in the 2011 Japan Series.[6]

In the 2012 season, he finished the regular season in 64 games with a batting average of .211 and a RBI of 10.

In the 2014 season, he joined the First squad as a reserve catcher, but played only 20 games. But he was selected as the Japan Series roster in the 2014 Japan Series.[7]

On May 31, 2015, Takaya recorded a home run for the first time in seven years.[8] In 2015 season, he finished the regular season in 93 games with a batting average of .234, one home runs and a RBI of 16. And he played as a starting member in the 2015 Japan Series.[9]

2016–2021 season

On July 6, 2016, Takaya had surgery on the left knee meniscus.[10] In the 2016 season, he played only in 37 games due to his left knee injury.

In the 2017 season, he mainly teamed up with mainstay and veteran starter pitchers such as Tsuyoshi Wada, Rick van den Hurk, Shota Takeda and Kenichi Nakata. On June 10, he broke his right middle finger but returned in July.[11] he finished the regular season in 92 games with a batting average of .206, one home runs and a RBI of 20. In the 2017 Japan Series, he recorded a block of Stolen base twice in 1 inning, a Japan Series record alongside Toru Hosokawa, and contributed to the 2017 Japan Series champion.[12]

On February 27, 2018, Takaya had surgery on the right elbow.[13] He was diagnosed with 3 months of complete cure, but he returned on April 17.[14] he finished the regular season in 73 games with a batting average of .173, one home runs and a RBI of 4. In the 2018 Japan Series, he recorded his first home run in the Japan series.[15]

In the 2019 season, he started the bench mainly to support young catcher Takuya Kai and Relief pitchers, and contributed to the team as a relief catcher.[16] And he also played as a relief catcher in the 2019 Japan Series.

In the 2020 season, Takaya mainly supported the pitcher as a relief catcher and finished the regular season with a batting average of .250, 2 home runs and 10 RBIs in 33 games. On October 13, he left the team for treatment given the condition of his left knee, which had been injured in the past.[17]

In the 2021 season, he was forced to adjust from April to July due to last year's left knee surgery, which meant he played only 20 games.[18] Takaya decided to retire after the 2021 season.[1]

After retirement

After his retirement, Takaya has served as the second squad battery coach for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks since the 2022 season.[1]

Personal

Takaya has close friends with foreign players, and when they return to their home countries, go to the Fukuoka Airport see they off.[19][20][21]

References
  1. "Nishinippon Sports baseball news ソフトバンク39歳高谷が引退会見「時がきたのかな」2軍バッテリーコーチに就任". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). November 1, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  2. ja:2006年度新人選手選択会議 (日本プロ野球)
  3. "4月17日(火) 楽天 vs ソフトバンク ～フルスタ宮城～". TBS Radio Excite Baseball (archive) (in Japanese). April 17, 2007. Archived from the original on October 5, 2007. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  4. "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) 打てる捕手へ、ソフトＢ高谷独り舞台". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). July 17, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  5. "Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks news Game report (Japanese) 2009/04/03（金）福岡ソフトバンク vs オリックス". Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site (in Japanese). April 3, 2009. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  6. "Nippon Professional Baseball (Japanese) コナミ日本シリーズ2011 出場資格者 福岡ソフトバンクホークス". NPB.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  7. "Nippon Professional Baseball (Japanese) SMBC日本シリーズ2014 出場資格者 福岡ソフトバンクホークス". NPB.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  8. "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトＢ高谷７年ぶり弾 工藤監督「貴重な本塁打」". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). June 1, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  9. "Nippon Professional Baseball (Japanese) 2015年度SMBC日本シリーズ 試合結果（第1戦）". NPB.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  10. "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク高谷が左膝半月板手術 復帰まで２カ月". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). July 4, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  11. "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク高谷ボール直撃で右手中指を骨折". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). June 10, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  12. "Nishinippon Shimbun Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトＢ高谷１イニング２度盗塁阻止 打っては２点適時打". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). November 1, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  13. "Nishinippon Shimbun Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトＢ明石、高谷リハビリ組順調". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). March 30, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  14. "Nishinippon Shimbun Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトＢ高谷８回からマスク「スっと入れた」 １軍スピード復帰". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). April 18, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  15. "Nishinippon Shimbun Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトＢ高谷シリーズ１号 広島驚異の反撃でコーチ「あの一本大きかった」". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). October 31, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  16. "Nishinippon Shimbun Sports baseball news (Japanese) 勝率.762 試合に出れば負けない「高谷神話」／プロ野球番記者コラム". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). July 5, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  17. "Sankei Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトB・工藤監督、高谷抹消で甲斐の奮起に期待". Sankei Sports (in Japanese). October 13, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  18. "Nishinippon Sports baseball news 39歳の高谷が1軍合流 手術の左膝「もう大丈夫」". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). July 22, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  19. "Nishinippon Shimbun Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトＢ助っ投２人、視線もう来季". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). November 6, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  20. "Nikkan Sports Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンクのデスパイネ帰国、高谷「膝を治せよ」". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). November 6, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  21. "Nikkan Sports Sports baseball news (Japanese) ひげそったソフトバンク高谷、ミランダとハグし別れ". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). October 26, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
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