SSG Landers pitcher Takeda Shota showed a dramatic turnaround.
SSG defeated the KT Wiz 3-1 in a home game at Incheon SSG Landers Field on May 25 in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League to record a five-game winning streak. Starter Takeda Shota pitched well that day.
Takeda's strong outing was a dramatic reversal. He had taken losses in all three games after the season opened and his earned run average was an unflattering 13.03. In his first start on the 1st against the Kiwoom Heroes he allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings; on the 7th against Hanwha he allowed four runs in three innings; and on the 14th against Doosan he allowed five runs in two innings and struggled.
He was eventually sent down to the second team. Manager Lee Soong-yong said when he sent Takeda to the second team, "I told him to organize how he would fight and how he should be managed." The manager tried to respect the pitching and game approach Takeda wanted.
After ten days of regrouping, Takeda returned completely changed. He became the winning pitcher after a strong outing of five scoreless innings, allowing three hits, two walks and striking out six. He finally earned his first win of the season after three losses.
After the game Takeda said, "I didn't change anything in particular. There wasn't a big change. I did what I always do and focused on what I had to do. Experiencing both first- and second-team games made me realize that positioning on defense was more important than my pitching itself. Accordingly, I spoke with each fielder one by one and shared opinions about defensive positioning."
Takeda finally lived up to expectations. Signed by SSG as an Asia quota player, Takeda debuted with the SoftBank Hawks in 2011 and through last year recorded a 66-48 record with a 3.33 earned run average in Nippon Professional Baseball.
He was also selected for Japan's national team in the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 and the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC). Because of that, expectations for him were high. He was evaluated as a pitcher with a 150 km/h fastball and excellent breaking-ball command.
But in his first three games Takeda's fastball topped out in the mid-140 km/h range. In his final start before being sent down to the second team on the 14th against Doosan his top speed was 146 km/h. He could not be called a power pitcher.
A pitcher who had a 13.03 ERA in his previous three games returned from second-team regrouping and did not allow a run in his comeback. That is not to say his velocity had increased dramatically. His top speed that day was 147 km/h. There was almost no difference.
There was nothing different about his pitching style. He just paid more attention to pitch selection and focused more on how to battle opposing hitters. Takeda said, "There weren't many hard hits to the outfield so I could reduce risk. I tried to disrupt the hitters' timing. That's my usual style. And communication with the fielders is important to get hitters out. You have to move as one," reflecting on the key to his first win.
He repeatedly emphasized that sharing what pitches he would throw and where opposing hitters usually hit the ball with the teammates who defend behind him led to good results. He also said, "I focused on inside battles regardless of left- or right-handed hitters."
He said communication with the catcher had to be good in that regard, and he emphasized that he meshed well with catcher Kim Min-sik, who started in the first team for the first time in 610 days since the Aug. 23, 2024 KT game at Munhak. Takeda said, "I had thorough talks with catcher Kim Min-sik about what kinds of pitches to throw and how to induce batted balls. As a result, communication was smooth and it was much more comfortable to pitch." Takeda thanked Kim Min-sik, saying he was really satisfied after working with him.
Manager Lee Soong-yong said, "First, congratulations to Takeda on his first win. He must have prepared with bitter determination in the second team, and today that led to a good result."<
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