Description
Kenta Maeda, born on April 11, 1988, is a professional baseball player from Tadaoka town in Osaka prefecture. Currently he is playing for the MLB team Los Angeles Dodgers. He is known for his unique gymnastics called “Maeken gymnastics” that he performs during breaks and during warm-up exercises.
He studied at PL Gakuen Senior High School, which was famous for its high school baseball, and in the professional baseball draft on September 25, 2006, he was chosen in the first round by Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Although he didn’t have many opportunities to pitch during his rookie year, in 2007, in the Hiroshima’s major top team, his seemingly rising fastball and 12-6 curveball were both valued, and in the off-season he inherited the team’s ace number, no 18, which surprised the fans.
On April 5, 2008, he had his first appearance in the first team as the starting pitcher against the Yokohama BayStars, and on June 18, he won his first professional game against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, where in 8 innings he allowed 2 hits, without giving up a single point. Starting from the all-star match, he was one of the fixed players in the starting rotation. He finished the season with 9 wins and 2 losses.
In 2010, he had his first chance to pitch in the opening game, where he pitched for 8 innings, and won after only giving up 1 point. After that he was instantly announced as the Carp’s ace starter. That year he made remarkable progress with his pitching stability and he improved his slider’s spin and his fastball speed.
On May 15, a grand pitching duel unfolded against NPB’s No. 1 pitcher, Yu Darvish, in the match against Nippon-Ham, with Maeda coming out victorious. He finished the season with 15 wins and 8 losses, 2.21 ERA, 174 strikeouts, and he became the youngest pitcher to win the pitching Triple Crown, as well as earning the Sawamura award.
In the Yokohama BayStars match on April 6, 2012, he became the 74th player in NPB and the 35th player in the Central League to throw a no-hitter. In the off-season, he was selected for the Japan national team for the 3rd WBC. The tournament started in March, 2013, where he took the mound as the starting pitcher in 3 matches. In total, he pitched in 15 innings, with 2 wins and 1 loss, 0.80 ERA, 18 strikeouts, which earned him the Best Eleven award.
While Maeda’s injuries and bad condition did effect his pitching, he continued to rake in 2 digit wins every year since 2010 as the Hiroshima Carp’s ace. However, they were stuck as a B class team and a weak batting lineup plagued their games, making it difficult for them to attain their long desired league championship.
In 2015, he again produced good results with a score of 15-8, 172 strikeouts, 2.09 ERA, and he won his second Sawamura award. Although, the team finished 4th year, and in the off-season, he publicly announced his intention to try his luck in MLB, using the posting system.
On January 7, 2016, it was announced that he had signed a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He made his debut as a starting pitcher on April 6, in the 3rd match of the season, against the San Diego Padres, where he took home his first MLB victory after allowing 5 hits, no walks, 4 strike outs, and no points given up in 6 innings. His debut match was made even more memorable with his first MLB homerun.
He finished that year with 16 wins and 11 losses, becoming the 7th Japanese pitcher in MLB to achieve 2 digit wins in their 1st year. His 3.48 ERA was also a fine result for his rookie year.
By 2017, he had recorded a combined total of 1500 strikeouts in NPB and MLB, and even though he had problems with stiffness in his left thigh and injuries, he produced 2 digit wins for the 2nd consecutive year, at 13. Although, he didn’t reach the required number of innings pitched to qualify for the best ERA title. Still, his contributions as the relief pitcher in the playoffs greatly helped his team advance to the World Series. Several times he saved the team from a tight spot as a relief pitcher against the Houston Astros in the World Series, but they eventually lost 3-4.
