Takeharu Kato

Takeharu Kato (加藤 武治)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 181 lbs.

• School Tokyo Gakugei University
• High School Yamagata Minami High School

• Born March 24, 1978 in Tendo, Yamagata, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Takeharu Kato played in Nippon Pro Baseball for 8 years.

Kato was drafted by the Yokohama BayStars in the fourth round of the 2002 NPB draft, and he joined their big club bullpen as a rookie. He recorded a 2.77 ERA in 44 relief outings in 2003, but slumped to a 3.92 ERA in 43 games in 2004. Kato had a 3.29 ERA in 46 appearances in 2005, then had a career year in 2006. The Yamagata native notched 27 holds in a league-leading 65 appearances with a solid 2.48 ERA, and won the Central League Most Valuable Setup Pitcher Award. He and other three Yokohama relievers - Atsushi Kizuka, Takeo Kawamura and Marc Kroon - were called the "Quattro K".

However, the overuse influenced his performance, and Kato only had a 4.50 ERA in 52 games in 2007. His ERA rose to 6.00 in 2008, and he only pitched 9 games for the big club in 2009. The BayStars then traded him with Yuta Sekiguchi and Takahiro Matsuka to the Nippon Ham Fighters for Suguru Matsuyama, Yataro Sakamoto and Naoto Inada. Kato had a 4.05 ERA in 21 games for the Fighters in 2010, then he announced his retirement. He was the minor league pitching coach for the Fighters from 2012 to 2014 and from 2018 to 2021. He started to coach their big club in 2022.

Overall, Kato was 30-28, collected 48 holds with a 3.61 ERA, struck out 443 and pitched 454 1/3 innings in 8 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio