Satoshi Takahashi (03)

Satoshi Takahashi (高橋 智)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 215 lb.

• High School Kojo High School

• Born January 26, 1967 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Satoshi Takahashi played in Nippon Pro Baseball and the Taiwan Major League.

Takahashi was drafted by the Hankyu Braves in the fourth round of the 1984 NPB draft, but he spent the first six seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues, only playing 92 games combined with the big club. He broke the Western League record for crushing 21 homers in 1987, and hit above .300 in 1988. Takahashi finally stayed with the big club for an entire season in 1991, hitting .245/.298/.482 with 23 homers. He ranked 6th in homers (16 behind Orestes Destrade) and 7th in triples (5 behind Hiromi Matsunaga).

The Yokohama native broke out in 1992, and he was selected into the 1992 NPB All-Star Games; he went 4-for-7 with a double. Takahashi ended up hitting .297/.360/.578 with a career-high 29 dingers, and won his only Best Nine as an outfielder. He led the league in triples with 7, ranked 7th in batting (.025 behind Makoto Sasaki), 3rd in doubles (4 behind Matsunaga) and 6th in homers (12 behind Destrade). In the Nichi-Bei Series, his four RBI tied Hiromitsu Ochiai for the lead among the Japanese players; Ken Griffey Jr. led the tournament with nine. Takahashi attended the 1993 NPB All-Star Game, and went 1-for-5 with a triple. However, he suffered a back injury and only batted .251/.326/.408 with 11 homers in 1993.

Takahashi suffered a right ankle sprain in the beginning of the 1994 season, and also fractured his left hand in August, which ended his season. He only recorded a .260/.310/.386 line with 5 homers in 1994. He then had various injuries such as sciatica and waist injury, and never played more than 90 games in a season with the Orix Buffaloes. He hit .262/.367/.452 with 5 homers in 1995, then recorded a .288/.350/.462 batting line in 1996. When So Taguchi and Ichiro Suzuki shined, Takahashi lost his spot and he only played 5 games in 1998. Orix then traded him to the Yakult Swallows for Shuichiro Matsumoto after the 1998 season.

After changing teams, Takahashi finally bounced back in 1999. He batted .293/.338/.520 with 16 homers in 1999, then had a .285/.349/.497 batting line in 2000. However, he slumped to .147/.231/.235 in 2001, then Yakult released him after the 2001 season. The Taipei Gida of the TML signed him in 2002, but the Yokohama native still struggled as his batting line was .206/.264/.289. Takahashi then announced his retirement after the 2002 season.

Overall, Takahashi had hit .265/.330/.468 with 737 hits and 124 homers in 15 seasons in NPB.

Source

• Wiki Japan
• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• NPB.com Bio