Kenta Maeda pitcher (former Yankees affiliated 3A), who joined Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, held a press conference on the 16th. number carries "18" on its back.

Ken Maeda pitcher joined Hiroshima in 2006 as the first pick in the high school draft. He appeared in 218 games in 9 years, with a good record of 97 wins, 67 losses, and a ERA 2.39 , and moved to the United States through the posting system in the 2015 off-season.

In MLB, he recorded double-digit win three times, and in 10 years, he appeared in 226 games, 68 wins, 56 losses, ERA 4.20, and 165 wins in Japan and the United States. The following is a question and answer to the representative question.


--Honest thoughts on returning to the Japan baseball world

I'm really looking forward to it. I'm really looking forward to playing in Japan for the first time in a long time, and I'm most excited.

ーー number About "18"

As for number, it was the thing that worried me the most after I decided to join The Eagles. I spent a lot of time discussing with the team whether I should wear the number 18 or not. After all, I think fans have the image of Masahiro Tanaka pitcher (now The Giants) when it comes to The Eagles 's number 18, and I think the team is also strong, so I thought that I should not wear that number myself.

In my own baseball life, the number 18 is a very important number, but I was really worried about whether I could wear it here. Tanaka: I have a lot of respect for pitcher, and I've been chasing my back for a long time, so it's a great honor to be able to wear the number 18 on this team.

I think some fans may have a slightly negative opinion about me wearing number 18. Even if it's not right now, I want to wear this number 18 myself, and I want to do my best to be recognized as much as possible while having people see the baseball and the attitude of fighting with all my might for the team's win.

ーー Rakuten Eagles When you decided to join the team, what was the deciding factor?

I think it's around the beginning of November. I think it was a little before the announcement of joining the team. I think the deciding factor is that all free agent players say in the words of GM Kazuhisa Ishii, and I think I'm probably one of them. Let's have Mr. Ishii talk to us and do our best. I decided to fight with this team.

--Were there any words that moved your heart?

I was very happy that he first evaluated me as a starting pitcher, and of course there were bad times this season, but I took the time to correct it from that area and was able to confidently move up to mound at the end, and GM Ishii was watching that area as well, so let's do our best together. They asked me to win the championship together, and I was able to imagine that I would fight for this team. I made the decision because I wanted to win the championship with this team.

ーーWhat did you think about when you decided to transfer?

I've been very free of time myself, so there are a lot of things I don't know about the Japan baseball world, and the number of players I know has decreased a lot, but I still want to win and ask if I would like to work with the team as a member of it, so as a player, winning is the biggest motivation. I always want to be a player who is considered necessary for that, so I was very happy that people thought so.

ーー How did you feel when Rakuten Eagles called out to you?

I was happy. I was very happy.

ーー What is your impression of Rakuten Eagles?

I think we have been in 4th standings place for the past few years, but both pitcher and fielder have veterans, and I think there are very good young players, so I think they are a team with real potential, and I think they are a team that can aim for the championship, so I am very happy to have joined that team.

ーーHow do you want to make use of the experience you gained in MLB?

I think there are many players who have been leading the The Eagles for a long time, so rather than taking the lead or leading this team, I want to be an unsung hero, a person who can be consulted when the players are in trouble, and I want to be in a position where I can convey my experience to the players.

As for grades, I want to make an effort to lead the team and achieve results. I've experienced a lot. If you are asked for advice or have something you want to ask, I would like to answer it.

--What did you gain during your 10 years in the United States?

I thought the world was big. There are many players who are more amazing than me, and by playing on the same team with players from various countries, we have fought as the same team in terms of cultural differences and language differences. I was able to absorb the wonders of Japan people and, conversely, the United States, and other countries, and I think I was able to grow as a person in that area.

As for baseball, it was a very difficult world to survive, so we had to change, challenge, and grow every year to survive in a world where we couldn't survive. baseball I think I was able to level up as a person.

--You have accumulated a total of 165 wins in Japan and the United States so far. What are your thoughts on winning 200 games?

It's still a little far away, so it's not a number that we can achieve next year, so I want to build up one by one. However, I think it's difficult to have a numerical goal at this age, but there is a number that motivates me to win 200 games, so I want to do my best to aim for that.

ーー What hitter would you like to play against in Pacific League?

I want to play against my classmates, regardless of whether it is Central League or Pacific League, but in terms of Pacific League, it is a Kotaro Kiyomiya player or a Keita Nakagawa player who is a junior at PL Academy. Kiyomiya had played against him on a TV program when he was in elementary school, and we talked about how he would fight if he became a professional baseball player. I think he will actually have the opportunity to become a professional baseball player and play against him from next year, so I am a little happy to think that his words at that time will come true. The only junior at PL Academy is Nakagawa-kun who is now (active), so in that sense, I think I would like to play against those two.

ーーI think there is a possibility that we will face our former team, Hiroshima, in the Sepa exchange match

It's difficult, isn't it? It may not seem like an enemy. Win as a member of the The Eagles.

ーー The Eagles What kind of appearance do you want to show to your fans?

Anyway, I want to show good pitching, and I want to go up to the mound for the team's win and make sure to lead the pitching game to win, so I want a lot of people to come to the stadium, especially I want to go to the stadium to see Kenta Maeda's throwing game, and I want to be a pitcher that makes people think so.

ーーPlease tell us your goals and enthusiasm at the end.

My goal is already to be the best in Japan. Yes. I think that's all there is to it, and since we have been in 4th place recently, I think there are fans and players who think it's a climax series, but I think I can win the championship and I think I can become the best in Japan, so my goal is to be the best in Japan. That's all.