Daiki Watanabe

2.1. Childhood and Amateur Career

Watanabe began his baseball journey in elementary school, playing for the Koganahara Victory team in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture. During his junior high years, he joined the Matsudo Little Senior, a hardball club team in Chiba, where he served as captain. Demonstrating his athletic ability beyond baseball, he also participated in a national competition for the 200 metres in his third year of junior high.

He attended Senshu University Matsudo High School, where he became a regular shortstop from the autumn of his first year. In the summer of his third year, he competed in the 97th National High School Baseball Championship, hitting two singles in the first-round game against Hanamaki Higashi High School. Although his team lost, Watanabe was the last batter in that decisive game. Throughout his high school career, he amassed a total of 17 home runs. Among his teammates at Senshu University Matsudo High School was Takashi Hara.

2.2. Professional Debut

Watanabe's professional career began when he was selected by the Tokyo Yakult Swallows as their sixth-round pick in the 2015 Nippon Professional Baseball Draft, held on October 22, 2015. He officially agreed to terms on November 19, signing a contract with a signing bonus of 2.50 M JPY and an annual salary of 5.00 M JPY. The formal announcement of his addition to the team took place on December 11 of the same year. Upon joining the Swallows, he was assigned the uniform number 49.

3.1. Tokyo Yakult Swallows (2016-2022)

During his tenure with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Watanabe steadily developed his skills, transitioning from an infielder to an outfielder and taking on various roles within the team.

In his rookie year in 2016, Watanabe did not make any appearances in first-team official games. However, he played in 74 games for the second team, recording 3 home runs, 10 RBIs, 4 stolen bases, and a batting average of .256. Later that year, from November 25, he was selected as part of the NPB Eastern selection team to participate in the 2016 Asia Winter Baseball League held in Taiwan.

In 2017, Watanabe excelled in the Eastern League during May, achieving a .362 batting average and 25 hits, which earned him the "SKY PerfecTV! Farm Monthly MVP Award". He made his first-team official game appearance on September 3, playing as a pinch hitter against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp at Meiji Jingu Stadium. He participated in the 2017 Asia Winter Baseball League in Taiwan for the second consecutive year, again representing the NPB Eastern selection.

By 2018, with the addition of Munetaka Murakami to the team, the competition for infield positions intensified. In response, Watanabe began to train as an outfielder, playing the majority of his second-team games in the outfield. Following the season, during contract negotiations for the 2019 season, he formally announced his full conversion to an outfielder and was officially registered under that position.

On May 10, 2019, Watanabe achieved a significant milestone in his professional career when he recorded his first professional hit and first professional home run in a game against the Yomiuri Giants. In 2020, he made a career-high 33 appearances, primarily utilized as a pinch runner. The following year, in 2021, he played a team-high 48 games as a pinch runner and also appeared in 43 games as an outfield defensive replacement, contributing significantly to the Swallows' league championship and 2021 Japan Series victory. However, in 2022, while he still made 22 appearances as a pinch runner and 27 as a defensive outfielder, his role gradually diminished as rookie Kazunori Maruyama began to take over those responsibilities.

3.2. Orix Buffaloes (2023)

On December 9, 2022, Daiki Watanabe was selected by the Orix Buffaloes in the first-ever Active Player Draft (現役ドラフト_{Gen'eki Draft}^Japanese), marking his transfer to the new team. He retained his uniform number 49 from his time with the Yakult Swallows.

During the 2023 season with the Orix Buffaloes, Watanabe's performance in the Western League was underwhelming, as he played in 48 games but only managed a batting average of .211. His first-team appearances were limited to just one game. As a result, on October 5, 2023, he received a release notification from the team. By November 11 of the same year, Watanabe made the decision to retire from professional baseball.

5.1. Playing Style

As a player, Daiki Watanabe's key strengths were his exceptional speed and solid defensive abilities. He was also noted for possessing hitting power, although this was often considered a hidden strength. He recorded an impressive time of 5.9 seconds in the 50-meter sprint, underscoring his fast legs, which made him an effective pinch runner and outfielder.

5.2. Personal Life

Watanabe is commonly known by his nickname, "Nabe." Due to his resemblance to Toshl, the vocalist of the rock band X Japan, particularly when wearing sunglasses, the "X pose" (crossing arms over the chest) became a popular celebration among his Tokyo Yakult Swallows teammates whenever he scored. In his personal life, while his family owns cats, Watanabe himself has a cat allergy. He married a non-celebrity woman in July 2021.

6.1. Alma Mater

• Senshu University Matsudo High School

6.2. Major Personal Records

• First Appearance & First At-bat:** September 3, 2017, against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (Game 23) at Meiji Jingu Stadium. He appeared as a pinch hitter for Tetsuya Yamamoto in the 4th inning, hitting a foul fly to third base against pitcher Akihide Okada.
• First Hit, First RBI, & First Home Run:** May 10, 2019, against the Yomiuri Giants (Game 7) at Tokyo Dome. In the 6th inning, he hit a solo home run to left field off pitcher Kazuto Taguchi.
• First Stolen Base:** August 1, 2019, against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars (Game 18) at Yokohama Stadium. In the 9th inning, he stole second base (pitcher: Yuta Muto, catcher: Yutaka Tobashira).

6.3. Uniform Numbers

• 49 (2016-2023)

6.4. Entrance Songs

• "On My Mind" by Ellie Goulding (2016-2018)
• "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi (2019)
• "Forever Love" by X Japan (2020-2021)
• "Rusty Nail" by X Japan (2021-)

6.5. Year-by-Year Batting Statistics

6.6. Year-by-Year Fielding Statistics