Takashi Saito
| Takashi Saito | |||
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Saito with the Boston Red Sox
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| Pitcher | |||
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Born: February 14, 1970 Sendai, Miyagi, Japan |
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| Professional debut | |||
| NPB: April 7, 1992, for the Yokohama Taiyo Whales | |||
| MLB: April 9, 2006, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| MLB: September 30, 2012, for the Arizona Diamondbacks | |||
| NPB: October 4, 2015, for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | |||
| NPB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 91–81 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.75 | ||
| Strikeouts | 1,331 | ||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 21–15 | ||
| Earned run average | 2.34 | ||
| Strikeouts | 400 | ||
| Saves | 84 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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NPB
MLB |
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NPB
MLB
Takashi Saito (斎藤 隆 Saitō Takashi?), born February 14, 1970, is a retired Japanese professional baseball pitcher who last played for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball.
Saito's professional career spanned 23 years. He spent his first 13 seasons pitching for the Yokohama BayStars in the Japanese Central League, compiling a record of 87–80, usually as a starter. He spent the next 7 seasons in MLB as a closer and relief pitcher before finishing his career in Japan. In his first MLB season of 2006, Saito finished 8th in the National League Cy Young Award voting. In his second season, he was named an All-Star.
Saito played for Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai during his college years alongside players such as former Seattle Mariners closer Kazuhiro Sasaki and former player and current Hanshin Tigers manager Tomoaki Kanemoto. Saito was originally a position player, but he became a pitcher in his second year in college. He was drafted in the first round by the Yokohama Taiyo Whales in 1991. He was an All-Star a total of four times while in Japan (1994, 1996, 1999, 2001), and he led the Central League in strikeouts with 206 in 1996. He was found to have a dislocated cartilage in his right elbow in the spring of 1997 and had to undergo surgery, and he spent the rest of the season rehabbing. He returned in 1998, winning 13 games while posting a 2.94 ERA. His team, the BayStars, also won the Japanese championship series for the second time in 38 years. He became the team's closer after incumbent Kazuhiro Sasaki left the BayStars to join the Mariners in 2000. His record was 7–1 with 27 saves with a 1.67 ERA in 2001. Saito returned to his starting role in 2003 but did not win more than 6 games in a season between 2003 and 2005.
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