Takeshi Hosoyamada

Takeshi Hosoyamada (細山田 武史)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 165 lb.

• School Waseda University
• High School Kagoshima Josei High School

• Born April 29, 1986 in Izumi, Kagoshima Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Takeshi Hosoyamada caught in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Japanese national team.

Hosoyamada won a Tokyo Big Six University League batting title in the spring 2007 season, hitting .424. He helped Waseda win the All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series that year as well. He made four Best Nines in college, hitting .280 overall. The Yokohama BayStars took him in the 4th round of the 2008 NPB draft.

He made his NPB debut on April 4, 2009 as a defensive replacement for Toshihiro Noguchi. His first hit came four days later off Satoshi Fukuda, a double. He wound up playing 88 games, hitting .158/.224/.198 in 203 plate appearances. He fielded .995, though allowing opposing baserunners to steal at a 82.7% success rate. He was Yokohama's most-used catcher. His offensive levels fell further in 2010 (.094/.121/.125 in 33 PA) as Shingo Takeyama became the primary backstop for Yokohama. With Takeyama hitting only .125 in 2011, Hosoyamada reclaimed the starting role. He batted .208/.278/.254 in 157 plate appearances over 84 games, hitting his only career home run off Fukuda. He handled 385 chances error-free to lead the Central League in fielding though his caught stealing rate was again on the lower side (18.8%).

Hosoyamada spent 2012 in the minors then had surgery and missed '13. Let go by Yokohama, he was signed by the Softbank Hawks. He got into 12 games in 2015 (1 for 6, BB, 2B, SB) to end his NPB career. He had hit .171/.237/.214 in 401 plate appearances, but fielded .997 in 201 games behind the dish. Opponents stole successfully 82.8% of the time.

Out of NPB, he played for Toyota in the industrial leagues in 2016-2017. It was an odd turn for someone coming from NPB, as players in the industrial leagues either were on their way up to NPB or wound spend their whole careers in the semipro ranks. He was the second former NPB player ever to sign with Toyota, following Kanichi Matoba. He helped Toyota win the 2017 title then joined the Japanese entry for the 2017 Asian Championship. Despite his experience, he did not get to bat for the Gold Medal winners as he was the 4th-string catcher behind Yuki Yamauchi, Takumo Oshiro and Ryo Kinami. He got two putouts in three games.