Gary Trundleburry, Shin Seiki Post

01/21/2033: Nagoya, Japan

Another year, another coaching project in the Shin Seiki coaching ranks. This time it is 41 year old former pitcher Kiyohisa Takeda taking the reigns as a manager for the AA Seoul Crushers. Unlike other recent SS minor league coaching hires, this one is not a former Eva. In fact, he never amounted to much as a player.

His career in the post-ascension LRS was brief and relatively unproductive (80 ERA+ in 461.2 IP). After that he washed out of a chance in Florda’s AAA squad in only a year. His last stop was in the WIL where he capped his career with a single decent season as a reliever (8-2, 111 ERA+ in 53 IP).

With such a meager resume, why would the Shin Seiki hand the keys to the Crushers over Takeda – who, by the way, has zero formal coaching experience, at any level? The answer starts with a number omitted from from the above career summary – 29 – his age in his first professional season in the LRS.  That is certainly an atypical age at which to start a professional career, especially considering he had zero experience in organized baseball in either High School or College. Sensing a trend yet?

Takeda’s telling of how he came to be a professional ball player:

“Back in 2020, I was a relatively low level contract software developer working on an augmented reality pitch tracking system for SpinMetrics. Essentially a pitcher could throw a bullpen session in a room outfitted with an array of cameras and sensors and our system was able to record everything the pitcher did. Plus it was able to, with the aid of some specialized contact lenses, to make a projection of what the pitcher was trying to do (hand grip, arm motion, etc. ) that the player could see and then attempt to copy. Kind of like a ghost of the high score on a track in Mario Cart.

Then the pandemic hit, and I was stuck on my own working on this system as the only on site set of hands. So in order to get the system working, I had to pitch. A lot. And for the data to be useful in the development of this system, it had to be proper pitching. It did not have to be great, but it had to be in the ballpark, so to speak.

It was slow going, as I do not always take to a new subject especially quickly. But after many months of relentless isolated grinding, I found that my pitches approached what you might see out of a mediocre pitcher in Japan. It surprised me to think of myself as a pitcher, but I realized that I was still relatively young, and at 6′ 4″, I had a projectable frame. Plus despite my recent grinding, my body was healthy and my arm was relatively low mileage. So I decided to try out for my local team – the Sendai. Turns out they were riddled with injuries, had lost several players in free agency, and they needed a guy to eat some innings. That I could do, if only poorly.”

After his playing career came to an end, Takeda returned to the business world. He went back to SpinMetrics and started selling the system he helped to develop. He showed aptitude there as well. That eventually led him to the Shin Seiki International Complex, where he was over seeing an installation of the 3rd generation of that system. The system could now assist not only with pitching, but also hitting and fielding. Through that system, Takeda had learned about every mechanic in the game, from grounders to knuckleballs. The SS International Complex came alive with excitement after the SpinMetric system came online. The new system itself was impressive, but the man running the show was causing the real buzz.

The way Takeda was able to effortlessly teach all comers how to get a bit better, on any subject caught the eye of the Evas’ front office. After meeting with GM Kevin Vail, Takeda was offered a shot at managing the Crushers, this despite the job having just been given to another unknown, Chris Cochran, mere days before. That must have been a hell of an interview performance. Cochran will apparently be paid his full negotiated contract for his trouble. A bit of a financial waste from the SS point of view, but one that Vail thought worthwhile. Vail on the move:

“Kiyo is an immense talent. He has shown himself to be a master of the process of learning, first for himself, and then for others. His formal coaching resume may be a Tabula Rasa, but his knowledge of the game and his knowledge of learning itself, is deep. I have high hopes for what he will eventually be able to bring to the table in Seoul.”

Now that Cris Krebs has been promoted to AAA, the Seoul roster lacks any blue chip prospects, so Takeda’s impact – for better or worse – should be modest initially. That’s certainly by design for 2033. But if Takeda takes to coaching like he has taken to his other pursuits, more critical assignments could certainly be in his future.