Takashi Arakawa

Takashi Arakawa (荒川 堯)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.

• School Waseda University
• High School Waseda Jitsugyo High School

• Born May 3, 1947 in Saku, Nagano Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Takashi Arakawa played for five seasons in Nippon Pro Baseball; he is the adopted son of Hiroshi Arakawa.

Takashi was a four-time Best Nine pick in college, once hitting three homers in a game against Rikkyo University. The Taiyo Whales picked him in the first round of the 1969 NPB draft but he refused to sign with them. He got threatening phone calls from Taiyo fans, then was mugged, with damage to his vision as a result. He agreed to sign with Taiyo, only with the understanding he would be traded to the Yakult Atoms. As a result of his role in forcing this transaction, he was suspended for a month of 1971.

Arakawa made his NPB debut with Yakult in 1971, fanning against Hidetake Watanabe in his first at-bat. His first hit was off Kazumi Takahashi and his first home run against Kazuhiro Fujimoto. For the year, he hit .242/.286/.379 in 66 games, splitting 3B with Norifumi Kido. He had his best season in 1972 - .282/.350/.490, 18 HR, 57 R in 83 G. Despite not being an everyday player, he was second on Yakult in homers, 4 behind Dave Roberts.

By 1973, though, Arakawa's batting line slipped to .232/.280/.376 and he had nearly as many errors (12) as RBI (17), now splitting 3B with Kazuhide Funada and Kido. He hit .245/.321/.510 in 16 games in 1974 and was 1 for 10 in 1975. He finished his career with 34 HR in 770 AB, 103 runs and 98 RBI in 225 games and a batting line of .253/.310/.426.