Keisuke Senda

Keisuke Senda (千田 啓介)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 158 lb.

• High School Matsuyama Shogyo High School

• Born June 28, 1943 in Matsuyama, Ehime Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Keisuke Senda played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 16 years.

Senda was signed by the Yomiuri Giants in 1962, and he spent his first four seasons primarily in the NPB Farm Leagues, only playing 9 games combined with the big club. He was the backup behind shortstop Yukinobu Kuroe in 1966, and he hit .180/.255/.240 in 110 at-bats. He also appeared in the 1966 Nippon Series, and he was 1-for-2, with a single against Eizo Goda. The Giants beat the Nankai Hawks in 6 games, and Senda won his first Nippon Series title. However, due to his weak batting, he couldn't take the starting spot and he only had 107 at-bats combined in the next three seasons. The Giants then traded him to the Lotte Orions for Ryunosuke Kawato.

The Matsuyama native shared the starting shortstop spot with Osamu Hirose in 1970, and he hit .226/.266/.305 in 116 games. He was 1-for-4 in the 1970 Nippon Series, with a double against Shinichi Yamauchi in the 9th inning of Game 3, but the Orions were beaten by the Giants in 5 games. He slumped to .157/.204/.216 in 1971, and he soon bounced back with a .266/.329/.363 batting line in 1972. He only played 73 games while hitting .232/.311/.326 in 1973, and he had a .198/.277/.291 batting line in 1974. He was also selected into the 1974 NPB All-Star Game, but he didn't get a single at-bat. In the 1974 Nippon Series, Senda was 1-for-9 in the first five games, then he shined in Game 6. He crushed a solo home run against Yukitsura Matsumoto in the 5th inning, and he helped the Orions beat the Chunichi Dragons in 6 games. Senda never had more than 100 at-bats in the rest of his career, and he announced his retirement in 1978. He then coached the Orions from 1979 to 1986.

Overall, Senda hit .229/.285/.309 with 281 hits in 16 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1974 NPB All Star Game