Yoshiamo Takino

CEO 2K Sports Japan Division

Tokyo, Japan

May 1, 2018

Congratulations to Lupin Cliff Hanger starting pitcher Shinobu Takeuchi on being selected to appear on the cover of LRS2K18! The choice was clear the moment that we looked at all of the stars of the Leauge of the Rising Sun. Dominating one’s sport is hard enough; doing it at Takeuchi’s young age is simply amazing. Here, then, is our sit-down interview with Shinobu Takeuchi.

Yoshiamo Takino-  How did your years playing for TENNOJI HS SENSEI prepare you for the LRS? You came right out of high school, correct?

Takeuchi- I was drafted out of high school. The scouts came to see me throw. I liked the fact that they were watching me and I put on my best show. Apparently they liked what they saw. This opened a gate, which has led me to the bigs. I’m not really sure how high school prepared me. I’ve just done the same thing at all levels ever since my Dad taught me how to pitch. Throw my best. When the batter gets the best of me, I figure out what I did wrong and try to learn from my mistake. That’s also something my Dad taught me.

Takino-  You were taken with the first overall draft pick in the 2013 LRS draft. Was there a ton of pressure to succeed and push yourself more, knowing you were a number 1 pick?

Takeuchi- Heck no. I was just glad to be in consideration by major league clubs. I love the game of baseball and the opportunity to reach the highest level was very exciting to me. I know a lot of guys feel pressure and everything. But I just stand on the mound and think: “what’s the best thing I can throw to sit this batter down?” I kind of think of it like shooting soda cans off of a fence with a bb gun. It’s fun for me. I just relax and let them have it.

Takino-  2013 was not a good year for the Lupin organization, The team still has yet to clear the 70-win column. Do you see yourself as the person to lead Lupin to the playoffs for the first time since 2008? 

Takeuchi- Oh, heck no. We have a wonderful young organization that will continue to get better and better over the next few years. We see ourselves as serious contenders within the next 5 years. I mean, I’ll do everything I can to help the team. That includes my personal performance, as well as anything I can do to encourage and help my friends reach their highest level of competition. No: I’m only contributing once every five days at most. And that’s not even for a whole game. Heck: don’t try to build me up into something I’m not.

Takino-  Word has it you were a leader the instant you walked onto the field. Do you get any grief for being so young and having the older players looking up to you? Do you get ribbed at all?

Takeuchi- Oh yeah, there’s hazing and joking and a few practical jokers in our crowd. But I love it. It helps me feel like part of the crowd. Welcomed and accepted by the organization. I’m not much of a practical joker. But there are a few guys who are going to be pretty surprised when I think up the right prank to get even with them! I’m good at what I do, when I set my mind to it. Somebody’s going to get what they got coming…[laughs]. But I can’t give away any of my secrets just yet.

Takino-  Were you always a big kid? You’re over 6 feet tall and 230 pounds. You’re a big dude, the second biggest guy on the roster. What’s your secret to packing on the muscle? 

Takeuchi- No secret. I am who I am. I guess this is my fate in this universe. I tell you it does come in handy being the biggest kid on the school yard playground. Nobody gave me much trouble ever.

Takino-  Every year we see players getting millions, and some are nowhere near the caliber player you are. With the LRS getting bigger every year do you think you’re worth more money now that you are an award winning player?

Takeuchi- We’ll find out exactly what I am worth when we go through arbitration and then I hit free agency. I will only be worth what the market brings. Right now I’m just happy to be getting paid to do something I love.

Takino- PEBA, where all the great ones go. Do you ever see yourself playing for a PEBA team? Or can you see yourself as a Cliff Hanger for life? 

Takeuchi- Well, right now, I see myself retiring in a Cliff Hanger uniform. But with free agency these days, who knows what will happen. My concern is helping the Cliff Hangers win this year, win the next game I start. That’s really about as far ahead as I like to look.

Takino-  What do you tell the younger audience, those kids playing ball in the back yard hoping to be 10% of the player you are?

Takeuchi- I don’t really know what to tell them. Unfortunately, most of the kids dreaming to be where I am will never make it. I saw many buddies fall away from the game as the competition got stiffer and the expectations higher. I think those kids that do have a chance at succeeding at this level already have the talent and have the drive they need. If they didn’t have that now, they’d probably never make it. That’s my opinion anyway.

Takino-  If you could go head-to-head with one batter who would it be, and why?

Takeuchi- The one batter I’d like to go head-to-head with is the one who is coming up in the lineup next. That’s all I think about. I keep a book on all of them. They are all unique batters. I like to figure out what’s going on in their head. Even facing pitchers, I find it challenging to retire a weak batter on the least amount of pitches and leave a sense of fear and self-doubt for the next time he comes to the plate. Sure: I get a big thrill out of retiring some of the big names. The best batters fail 7 out of 10 times. So if I sit down one of the heavy hitters, it might have been just luck for me that I threw in one of his 7 failed at-bats.

Takino-  Last question, as I can see your PR rep giving me the wrap-up sign. How many games will you win this season? How well do you think Lupin will do ?

Takeuchi- The more games I win, the better Lupin will do. I’d like to win one more game than I actually can. That’s how I like to attack it. What can I do to squeeze that one more out, that one more scoreless inning, that one more win for the team that I actually did not deserve? That’s my thought.

Takino-Thank you for you time. Good luck and have a wonderful season.