Kenjiro Tanaka

Kenjiro Tanaka (田中 健二朗)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 163 lbs.

• High School Tokoha University Kikugawa High School

• Born September 18, 1989 in Shinshiro, Aichi, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kenjiro Tanaka has pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Tanaka was drafted by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in the first round of the 2007 NPB draft, but he spent most of his first seven seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues, only pitching 41 games combined with the big club. The southpaw finally broke out in his eighth pro season, and became one of the most dominant relievers in the league. He was selectedfor the 2015 NPB All-Star Games, and replaced Kenta Maeda with a 4-0 lead in the 5th inning in Game 2. Tanaka retired Ginjiro Sumitani but gave up a solo shot to Shogo Akiyama. He struck out Hideto Asamura and retired Yuki Yanagita, then Yudai Ono succeeded him. Tanaka ended up collecting 16 holds with a 2.20 ERA in 35 appearances in 2015.

The Aichi native pitched a career-high 61 games, collected 23 holds and a 2.45 ERA in 2016. He ranked 5th in holds (18 behind Scott Mathieson) and 11th in appearances (11 behind Mathieson). He pitched 2/3 of an inning to get a hold in Game 1 of the 2016 CLCS first stage, then collected a clutch win in Game 3. Tanaka relieved Tomoya Mikami in the 9th inning, allowed an infield hit to Shuichi Murata and picked up off immediately. He then retired five straight batters, and Hiroki Minei's clutch RBI single helped the BayStars advance to the final stage. Tanaka pitched a shutout inning in Game 2 against the Hiroshima Carp in the final stage, but the BayStars were beaten in four games.,

The Tokoha Kikugawa alumni pitched more than 60 games again in 2017, but his ERA rose to 4.47. He pitched 1/3 of an inning against the Hanshin Tigers in the first stage of the 2017 CLCS, allowed two hits and he didn't appear in any games the rest of the series. His only appearance in the 2017 Nippon Series was in Game 1, when he relieved Shoichi Ino when the bases were loaded in the 5th inning. Tanaka walked Keizo Kawashima, retired Kenji Akashi then Takuya Kai drew another bases-loaded walk. Yuki Yanagita then added a two-RBI double, and Kenta Imamiya's triple sent Yanagita and Kai home; Imamiya was out at third. Tanaka never pitched in the rest of the series and the Hawks beat the BayStars in 6 games. Tanaka only pitched 11 games with a 6.57 ERA in 2018, and he stayed in ni-gun for the entire 2019 season. He missed the next two seasons due to a left elbow injury, and miraculously came back in 2022. He pitched 47 games with a solid 2.63 ERA, and notched 13 holds. However, he suffered a left foot injury, so he only had 11 appearances in 2023 and the BayStars released him after this season.

Tanaka's repertoire features a fastball that peaks at 91.3 mph, a curveball, forkball and a slider.