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Takumi Akiyama

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Takumi Akiyama
Akiyama with the Hanshin Tigers
Hanshin Tigers – No. 21
Pitcher
Born: (1991-04-26) April 26, 1991 (age 33)
Marugame, Kagawa, Japan
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
NPB debut
August 21, 2010, for the Hanshin Tigers
NPB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Win–loss record49-44
ERA3.66
Strikeouts540
Teams

Takumi Akiyama (秋山あきやま 拓たく巳み, Akiyama Takumi, born April 26, 1991 in Marugame, Kagawa) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

Early baseball career

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Takumi's interest in baseball started when he was 3 as he played catch with his dad in the suburbs of Marugame City. He initially played little league baseball for the Imazu Junior Sports Club, but when his family had to move to Ehime, he joined the Saijō Juniors and even got to compete in national tournaments. He continued playing for the Saijō Seniors, and also got selected to play for the national team in an international tournament in his last year in junior high.[1] He grew up a Yomiuri Giants fan as he lived in an area that only broadcasts Giants games.[2]

He continued to play for Saijō High School where he excelled both as a hitter and pitcher. He batted cleanup from his first year, and as the senior ace pitcher, he carried his team in the prefectural and regional tournaments, all the way to both the Spring and Summer Koshien tournaments of 2009. Despite not making the finals of both national tournaments, he finished high school with an impressive 48 home run record which earned him the nickname "Iyo Godzilla" (Godzilla from Ehime).[3]

Hanshin Tigers

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He was the Hanshin Tigers' 4th round pick in the 2009 annual professional baseball draft.[4] He signed a 40 million yen contract with the Tigers for a starting annual salary of 6 million yen, and was assigned jersey number 27.[5]

2010

He lost his debut match against the Giants on August 21 (6 innings, 4 ERs). A week later, he managed to pull through his next start against the Swallows and earned his first career win, a feat that was last achieved by a high-school drafted Hanshin rookie 24 years ago by Shōji Tōyama in 1986. His streak continued on September 12 when he went the distance and achieved a shutout victory with no walks against the Swallows, becoming the 7th high-school drafted rookie in the Central League to ever achieve the feat. His next outings were not as victorious however, and he finished the season with a 4–3 record and a 3.35 ERA.[6]

2011

Due to a neck injury, he spent most of the season in the minors. He was given the chance to start the September 28 game against the Swallows, but he failed to secure the win and ended his season with 0–1. During postseason, he was loaned to the Canberra Cavalry to play in the Australian Baseball League together with teammates Fumiya Araki and Yuhei Kai.[7] He took the mound for four matches and topped the league as a starter with an ERA of 1.23 during his loan period. He struck out 16, gave up 13 hits, 10 walks and 3 earned runs (1.05 WHIP) in 22 innings before going back to Japan.[8]

2012 to 2016

Akiyama spent most of the next four years in the minors pitching in Western League games, with only a handful of main squad appearances. In 2013, while he came 2nd in minor league wins and ERA, he failed to secure any wins in his 8 main league starts (0-3).[9] This was also the case in 2014, where he topped the league in wins (9) and strike outs (116) but had zero main squad wins. He did get to pitch in the 2014 NPB Tigers-Giants Union vs MLB All-Star during post-season, where he gave up 1 solo homerun in 1 inning.[10] He had two quality starts in 2015 but the succeeding relievers failed to hold the fort, and for the 3rd time in a row, Akiyama ended the season without a single win.[11]

Unfazed, he continued to pitch well in the minors in 2016, and topped the league in wins (9) and came 2nd in ERA (2.08). He got called to the main squad as a reliever for a couple of outings in August, and was returned to the starting rotation in September. Finally on September 16, he got to earn his 1st win in 4 years on his start against the Baystars.[12] His jersey number was changed to 46 during post-season, and was also awarded the team's Farm MVP.[13]

2017

This was Akiyama's comeback year as he started the season as part of the main starting rotation. He bagged his first win on April 12 against the Baystars, and became a mainstay as he continued to pitch quality starts on his next outings.[14] On May 16, he went the distance and struck out 12 batters in 9 solid innings, earning him his first complete win since 2010.[15] Despite having suffered an injury on his right hamstring early in August, he notched his 10th win on August 18, and even managed to hit his first career home run off Dragons reliever Junki Itoh, the first Hanshin pitcher to do so in Nagoya Dome.[16] He finished the season as Hanshin's top starter with a 12–6 record, with a personal best ERA of 2.99 out of 25 starts. He also topped both leagues for the fewest number of walks issued by a starter (16), with a walk percentage of 1.24 and a K/BB of 7.69.[17] Post-season, he and Masahiro Nakatani were given the 2017 Tomoaki Kanemoto Fresh Award during fan appreciation day on November 25, and received 5 million yen each.[18] His performance during the season also earned him an estimated 30 million pay raise, quadrupling his previous salary to 41 million yen.[19]

2018

This was a less productive year for Akiyama as he saw fewer starts and struggled with control early in the season. On May 8 however, he recorded a shutout victory and hit a home run against the Giants at Tokyo Dome. He became the first pitcher to toss a shutout victory and hit a home run in the same game since Colby Lewis against Yakult in 2009, and the first Hanshin pitcher since Kazuyuki Yamamoto against the Giants in 1982.[20] He started having problems with his knee after he picked up his fifth victory on June 7, and got taken off the active roster. He got a few more starts after finishing rehab, but was unsuccessful. He ended the season at 5–10 with a 3.86 ERA out of 17 starts. Post-season, he underwent surgery to clean out his right knee at a hospital in Osaka.[21]

2019

Akiyama saw fewer starts in 2019. To test his performance after surgery, he was made to start the season in the farms. After winning his first 3 games (2.70 ERA), he got his first main squad outing on April 11.[22] He promptly lost after giving up 5 runs and was immediately removed from the roster.[23] He was called back two weeks after and pitched 2 winning games, but after losing on May 18 against the Carps, he was sent back to the farms. He didn't get another start until July 25, then a few more scattered outings until September. He finished with 4-3 and a 4.26 ERA out of 10 games. While he got awarded for the most Western League wins (10) for the 3rd time,[24] but his subpar performance in the main squad earned him an 8 million pay cut, bringing his annual salary down to 32 million yen.[25]

2020

2020 Pitching Stats [26]
Pitch Percent
Thrown		 Hit
Rate		 Strikeout
+ Fanning
Rate
Four-seam 45% 25% 24%
Cutter 22% 24% 26%
Forkball 20% 17% 14%
Shuuto 6% 36% 14%
Knuckle curve 8% 15% 32%
Slider 0.5% 67% 13%

He had a rocky start in 2020, pitching a couple of bad outings (4.9 ERA in 5 games). But a productive line up helped earn him 3 wins by the end of July, less than 2 months into a pandemic-shortened season. Despite allowing 5 runs, he notched a complete win against the Swallows on July 28, almost two and a half years since he last accomplished this feat in May 2018.[27] His pitching picked up after this and he produced 6 quality starts out of 7 outings in the following weeks (6 earned runs, 1.25 ERA). In spite of this however, the team's hitting slump coupled with fielding errors, some he committed himself, only earned him 3 wins until the end of September.[28] Aided by reliable relievers, he picked up 5 more wins including another complete win on October 25 against the Giants,[29] and finished 11-3 (tied with Yuki Nishi for most wins) and a career high ERA of 2.89 and 0.97 WHIP. His last 3 outings and wins pushed Hanshin ahead of the tight race against the Dragons to finish 2nd in the rankings. He was particularly effective against the Carps line up who managed to score only 6 runs in 6 games against him.

Pitching style

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With an overhand delivery, Akiyama throws a four-seam fastball in the 130–140 km/h (81–87 mph) range (maxed at 148 km/h (92 mph) as his main pitch, alternating with a cutter and forkball. He mixes them with a shuuto, knuckle curve and a rare slider.[30]

References

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  1. ^ "目標もくひょう「毎年まいとし2けた勝利しょうり」／阪神はんしん・秋山あきやま拓たく巳み". Shikoku News. 2010-11-05.
  2. ^ "阪神はんしん3選手せんしゅが養護ようご学校がっこうで交流こうりゅう 江越えごえ＆秋山あきやまが"カミングアウト". Daily Sports. 2016-12-15.
  3. ^ "阪神はんしん秋山あきやま１発はつ＆完封かんぷう、高校こうこう通算つうさん48発はつ伊予いよゴジラ本領ほんりょう". Nikkan Sports. 2018-05-09.
  4. ^ "2009年ねん 新人しんじん選手せんしゅ選択せんたく会議かいぎ(阪神はんしんタイガース)". NPB Official Website. 2009-11-28.
  5. ^ "阪神はんしん４位い秋山あきやま「早はやくお客きゃくさんを呼よびたい」". Nikkan Sports. 2009-11-27.
  6. ^ "アニキも脱帽だつぼう　阪神はんしん新人しんじん秋山あきやまワンマンショー！24年ねんぶり快挙かいきょ！". Sports Nippon. 2010-09-12.
  7. ^ "Akiyama makes pitch to start for Cavs". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2011-11-23.
  8. ^ "阪神はんしん】秋山あきやまが帰国きこく　充実じゅうじつのWリーグ". Nikkan Sports. 2016-09-16.
  9. ^ "【阪神はんしん】秋山あきやま6度目どめの先発せんぱつでも勝かてず…". Nikkan Sports. 2013-09-10.
  10. ^ "2014 SUZUKI 日米にちべい野球やきゅうシリーズ 日本にっぽんプロ野球やきゅう80周年しゅうねん記念きねん試合しあい　打席だせき結果けっか・投打とうだ成績せいせき". Japan Baseball Official Website. 2014-11-21.
  11. ^ "阪神はんしん秋山あきやま「大事だいじなところで」好投こうとうも3年ねんぶり白星しろぼし逃のがす". Nikkan Sports. 2015-08-13.
  12. ^ "阪神はんしん秋山あきやま4年ねんぶり勝かった「久ひさしぶり気持きもち良よかった」". Nikkan Sports. 2016-09-17.
  13. ^ "藤川ふじかわ球児きゅうじは22番ばんに　阪神はんしんの背番号せばんごう変更へんこう者しゃ一覧いちらん". Nikkan Sports. 2016-11-17.
  14. ^ "阪神はんしん秋山あきやま1勝しょう「必死ひっしにやってる結果けっか」7回かい途中とちゅう5失点しってん". Nikkan Sports. 2017-04-12.
  15. ^ "阪神はんしんが投打とうだで圧倒あっとう　3連勝れんしょうで貯金ちょきん「11」　秋山あきやまがチーム一番乗いちばんのり、7年ねんぶり完投かんとう勝利しょうり". Daily Sports. 2017-05-16.
  16. ^ "阪神はんしん・秋山あきやま「たまたまですけど普段ふだんの練習れんしゅうの成果せいかが出でたかな」". Sankei Sports. 2017-08-18. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
  17. ^ "秋山あきやま、今季こんきはスタミナもＳだ「パワプロ」イベント参加さんかで誓ちかった". Daily Sports. 2018-01-07.
  18. ^ "阪神はんしん・中谷なかたに　５００万まん円えんゲット　来季らいきは「４０本ほん打うちます！」". Sports Nippon. 2017-11-25.
  19. ^ "阪神はんしん秋山あきやまは約やく４倍ばいの４１００万まん円えんでサイン「(褒美ほうびは)時計とけいかな」". Sankei Sports. 2017-12-06.
  20. ^ "阪神はんしん秋山あきやま１発はつ＆完封かんぷう、球団きゅうだんでは山本やまもと和かず以来いらい36年ねんぶり". Nikkan Sports. 2018-05-08.
  21. ^ "阪神はんしん・秋山あきやまが右みぎ膝ひざ手術しゅじゅつ　シーズン中ちゅうから痛いたみ　１８日にちに退院たいいん". Sports Nippon. 2018-10-19.
  22. ^ "阪神はんしん秋山あきやま11日にち今季こんき初はつ先発せんぱつへ泰然たいぜん「気持きもちを込こめて」". Nikkan Sports. 2019-04-10.
  23. ^ "14年ねん目め阪神はんしん岩田いわたが18日にちヤクルト戦せんで今季こんき初はつ先発せんぱつへ". Nikkan Sports. 2019-04-13.
  24. ^ "阪神はんしん秋山あきやまが最多さいた勝利しょうり投手とうしゅ賞しょう「準備じゅんびしていた結果けっか」". Nikkan Sports. 2019-11-26.
  25. ^ "阪神はんしん秋山あきやまは800万まん減げん「だいぶ良よくはなっている」". Nikkan Sports. 2019-12-10.
  26. ^ "2020年度ねんど 秋山あきやま 拓たく巳み【阪神はんしん】投手とうしゅ成績せいせき詳細しょうさい(カウント別べつ・球たま種しゅ配分はいぶん)". baseballdata.jp. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  27. ^ "阪神はんしん秋山あきやまが「大人おとなの投球とうきゅう」徹てっし812日にちぶり完投かんとう勝利しょうり". Nikkan Sports. 2020-07-28.
  28. ^ "阪神はんしん秋山あきやま７回かい４失点しってん「悔くやしい」自身じしん２失策しっさくが失点しってん絡からむ". Nikkan Sports. 2020-09-19.
  29. ^ "阪神はんしん秋山あきやま３年ねんぶり２桁けた勝利しょうり王手おうて「あと１勝しょう頑張がんばる」". Nikkan Sports. 2020-10-25.
  30. ^ "阪神はんしん・秋山あきやま　８年ねん目めの開花かいかの真相しんそう　転機てんきとなった３みっつのポイント". Sports Nippon. May 9, 2017.
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