Takeshi Kaneko

Takeshi Kaneko (金子 丈, Kaneko Takeshi; born February 25, 1993 in Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan) is a retired professional Japanese baseball player. He was a pitcher for the Chunichi Dragons.

Takeshi Kaneko
Chunichi Dragons
Pitcher/Scorer
Born: (1993-02-25) February 25, 1993 (age 32) Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan
Bats: Right Throws: Right
debut
April 16, 2015, for the Chunichi Dragons
NPB statistics (through 2016)
Win–loss	0–0
ERA	4.91
Strikeouts	12
Teams
Chunichi Dragons (2015–2017)

Early career

In his university career, Kaneko performed as both a starter and a reliever for Osaka University of Commerce. In the Kansai6 Baseball League in Spring of his third year, Kaneko recorded 4 consecutive shutouts.^[1] His overall record for his university was 65 games played with a 23–17 win-loss record and a 1.85 ERA.^[1] He is one year the university senior of teammate, Iori Katsura.

At the 2014 Nippon Professional Baseball draft, Kaneko was selected 9th by the Chunichi Dragons where he went on to sign a ¥6,000,000 contract with a ¥15,000,000 sign on bonus.^[2]

Professional career

Chunichi Dragons

2015

On 16 April, Kaneko made his debut against the Hanshin Tigers at the Nagoya Dome in one inning of relief where he retired 3 batters in a row.^[3] He was the first of the 4 pitchers drafted in 2014 to make his debut.

Kaneko would go on to play in a further 10 games all coming as a relief pitcher where he threw 13.2 innings with a 3.95 ERA and 12 strikeouts.

2016

Only one appearance would happen for Kaneko in 2016 where on May 8 he took charge of the 9th inning against the Yomiuri Giants with the Dragons holding an 11–2 lead where Kaneko gave up a 2-run homerun to Yoshiyuki Kamei before closing out.^[4]