Yuhei Takai

2.1. Birth and Family Background

Yuhei Takai was born on June 25, 1984, in Miyamae Ward, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Both of his parents worked as junior high school teachers. His older brother, Daisuke, is known as an acrobat dancer and street performer. Notably, the talent Becky was one year his senior in both elementary and junior high school. This connection led to Becky sending him an autographed shikishi (colored paper board) when he joined the Yakult Swallows.

2.2. High School Career

Takai attended Tohoku High School in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, where he quickly gained recognition as the "high school's number one left-handed pitcher." His talent attracted attention not only from Japanese professional baseball teams but also from Major League Baseball (MLB) scouts. His high school coach, Masahiro Wakaou, praised his exceptional potential by comparing him to two professional seniors, stating that Takai was "better than Shinya Goto as a pitcher and better than Shigekazu Shima as a batter." As a pitcher, he recorded a fastball speed of up to 94 mph ^{(151 km/h)}. Demonstrating his two-way potential, he also hit 36 home runs during his high school career. Among his teammates at Tohoku High School, Yu Darvish was a junior, two years his younger.

3.1. Professional Debut

In the 2002 NPB Draft, Takai was selected in the first round as a pitcher by both the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. The Swallows won the negotiation rights through a lottery, and Takai subsequently signed with them under estimated terms of a 100.00 M JPY contract and an annual salary of 12.00 M JPY. He was assigned jersey number 16 and was initially registered under his full birth name, Yuhei Takai (高井 雄平_{Takai Yūhei}^Japanese). He made his Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) debut on April 22, 2003, with the Yakult Swallows.

3.2. Pitcher Career

Takai began his professional career as a pitcher for the Yakult Swallows. In his debut season in 2003, he made his first appearance on April 22 against the Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome. He secured his first career win on June 11, also against the Giants, and his first win as a starter on June 28 against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, pitching 5 innings with 4 earned runs and 10 strikeouts. Overall, he appeared in 27 games, recording 5 wins and 6 losses with an ERA of 5.03, and led the Central League with 12 wild pitches.

In 2004, he spent the first half of the season in the minor leagues, limiting his first-team appearances to 9 games, but he managed to secure 4 wins as a starter after being promoted. The 2005 season saw him on the Opening Day roster for the first time, continuing as a starter. On April 3 against the Hanshin Tigers at Osaka Dome, he hit his first professional home run off Atsushi Nomi in his first at-bat of the game. However, his struggles with control, leading to a high number of walks and hit-by-pitches, resulted in his demotion to the minor leagues in June, where he finished the season.

For the 2006 season, Takai changed his jersey number to 22 to accommodate the return of Kazuhisa Ishii, who wished to reclaim his former number 16. He primarily served as a reliever, appearing in 36 games, but recorded a career-worst ERA of 6.51. On June 17 against the Chiba Lotte Marines, he was ejected after just one pitch for hitting Kazuya Fukuura in the head, ruled a dangerous pitch. In his only start of the season on October 12 against the Yokohama BayStars at Meiji Jingu Stadium, he recorded three wild pitches in a single inning, tying an NPB record, and allowed a run without a hit.

In 2007, his jersey number changed again to 41 as Shingo Takatsu reclaimed number 22. To improve his control, he altered his pitching form from windup to set position. He appeared in a career-high and team-high 52 games as the team's only left-handed reliever. He earned his first career save on July 16 against the Chunichi Dragons at Nagoya Dome and recorded 15 hold points (3 relief wins, 12 holds), despite a high ERA of 5.19.

In 2008, under new manager Shigeru Takada, he resumed training as a starter but continued to struggle with control. His fastball velocity dropped below 87 mph ^{(140 km/h)}, and his slider became ineffective. He made only one first-team appearance, pitching two-thirds of an inning, and was later dispatched to the Hawaii Winter League in late September. The 2009 season saw him further modify his pitching form, but he again made only one first-team appearance. Due to his poor performance in the Eastern League, the team offered him a position change to an outfielder on September 30 during the Phoenix League. While he initially accepted, he later requested to continue pitching as a side-armer. However, he began full-scale practice as a fielder during the autumn camp after the season concluded.

3.3. Transition to Outfielder

The formal transition from pitcher to outfielder began in earnest for Takai following the 2009 season. Despite his initial reluctance to abandon pitching, he committed to the change. In 2010, he did not make any first-team appearances but performed well in the Eastern League as a batter, reaching the plate appearance qualification with a batting average of .283, 4 home runs, and 35 RBIs.

In 2011, his registered name was officially changed to "Yuhei" (雄平_Yūhei^Japanese). He continued to excel in the Eastern League, maintaining the top batting average by mid-July with a .348 average, 5 home runs, and 24 RBIs. His strong performance led to his first selection as a fielder for the NPB All-Star Game just before the event on July 11, although he did not make his first-team debut as a fielder in an official game that year. He finished the Eastern League season with a .330 batting average, the highest among qualified batters, though he narrowly missed the batting title due to an exception rule.

3.4. Outfielder Career

Yuhei's career as an outfielder began to flourish in 2012 when he made the Opening Day roster as a fielder for the first time. He recorded his first hit as a fielder in a pinch-hit appearance against the Giants. After a brief demotion, he returned to the first team in September and established himself as the team's leadoff hitter and center fielder for the remainder of the season.

In 2013, he became a regular outfielder, hitting his first home run as a fielder (and his first in eight years) on March 30 against the Hanshin Tigers off Shintaro Fujinami. However, his season was cut short on April 17 against the Chunichi Dragons when he suffered a torn right ACL while fielding. He underwent reconstructive surgery on May 10 and spent the rest of the season rehabilitating.

He made a strong return in 2014, starting the season as the second batter and center fielder before settling into the fifth spot in the lineup. Despite a slow start in April, he improved his hitting after receiving advice from manager Atsushi Ogawa, a former outfielder, to focus on full swings. On May 28 against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, he hit two home runs off Shohei Ohtani, reaching double-digit home runs (10) for the first time in his career. His outstanding performance in May, with a .364 batting average, 8 home runs, 19 RBIs, and a .646 slugging percentage, earned him his first Monthly MVP award. He was only the second player in the Central League to win the award after converting from a pitcher. In July, he filled in as the clean-up hitter due to Wladimir Balentien's injury and was selected to his first NPB All-Star Game as a manager's recommendation. He concluded the season with a .316 batting average and 23 home runs in 141 games, earning his first Best Nine award as an outfielder. Following the season, he signed a new contract with a 380% raise, the highest in NPB that year, to an estimated 60.00 M JPY.

In 2015, Yuhei was called up to the Japan national baseball team for the "GLOBAL BASEBALL MATCH 2015 Samurai Japan vs Europe" exhibition series, starting as the seventh batter and center fielder in the first game on March 10. He began the regular season as the clean-up hitter and center fielder but saw a decline in his overall performance, with his batting average dropping to .270, 8 home runs, and 60 RBIs. However, on October 2 against the Hanshin Tigers, he hit a walk-off single off Atsushi Nomi in the 11th inning, securing the Swallows' first Central League pennant in 14 years. He performed well in the 2015 Central League Climax Series, batting .333, contributing to the team's advancement to the 2015 Japan Series, where they ultimately lost to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He was also named a preliminary candidate for the 2015 WBSC Premier12 but did not make the final roster. On July 20, 2015, in a game against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, Yuhei mistakenly threw a fair ball into the stands, believing it to be a foul ball. This unusual play occurred on the same day that Haruki Nishikawa of the Nippon-Ham Fighters made a similar error, marking the first time two such incidents were recorded in NPB official games on the same day.

In 2016, he started the season as the fifth batter and right fielder but was sidelined on July 27 due to a left oblique muscle strain. He returned in early September but fell short of the league's plate appearance qualification and a .300 batting average. The 2017 season saw him start strong, batting fourth for 40 games. However, on June 28 against the Giants at Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium, he fractured his right hamate bone while hitting a foul ball. He returned for the final game of the season, finishing with 71 appearances and 2 home runs. Despite not meeting the plate appearance qualification, he recorded a .306 batting average, his first above .300 in three seasons.

In 2018, with the return of Nori Aoki from MLB, Yuhei was considered for a conversion to first base during spring training. Nevertheless, he maintained his role as the fifth batter and right fielder, appearing in 124 games and qualifying for plate appearances. He hit 11 home runs, his first time reaching double digits in four years, and achieved a career-best batting average of .318. His batting average with runners in scoring position was .356, ranking second in the league. Following the season, he signed a contract for 100.00 M JPY, marking the first time his salary reached this milestone in his 16th professional year (9th as a batter). He became the fourth player in NPB history to reach a 100.00 M JPY salary after converting from a pitcher, following Takuro Ishii, Kazuhisa Fukura, and Yoshio Itoi.

In 2019, he played in 131 games, recording a .273 batting average, 12 home runs, and 56 RBIs, with his salary remaining at 100.00 M JPY. He also revealed the formation of the "Yuhei-gumi" (Yuhei group), an offseason training team consisting of himself and five other players: Meng Omura, Naoki Matsumoto, Kengo Ota, Daiki Watanabe, and Tomo Matsumoto. His appearances were limited to 43 games in 2020, and his salary decreased by 25.00 M JPY to 75.00 M JPY.

In 2021, Takai did not make any first-team appearances. On September 29, he announced his retirement from professional baseball. He expressed gratitude to the team, fans, and his family, citing his walk-off hit on October 2, 2015, that clinched the league championship, as his most memorable at-bat. His retirement game took place on November 1, the final game of the season against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp at Meiji Jingu Stadium. A retirement ceremony was held after the fifth inning. He entered the game as a right fielder in the sixth inning and hit a single off Daisuke Moriura in his first at-bat in the seventh inning. In his final at-bat in the eighth inning, he grounded out to second base against Sotaro Shimauchi. After the game, he was given a traditional five-time "dōage" (celebratory toss) by his teammates.

3.5. Major Records and Awards

Yuhei Takai's career was highlighted by several significant achievements and records, particularly after his transition to an outfielder.

• Best Nine Award: 1 time (Outfielder: 2014)
• Monthly MVP Award: 1 time (Fielder: May 2014)
• Sky PerfecTV! Dramatic Sayonara Award Annual Grand Prize: 1 time (2015)
• NPB All-Star Game selections: 2 times (2014, 2015)

• Other Notable Records:**

• Firsts (Pitcher):**

• Firsts (Batter):**

4.1. Pitching Attributes

During his time as a pitcher, Takai was a hard-throwing left-hander, capable of reaching speeds up to 96 mph ^{(154 km/h)} with his fastball. His repertoire also included a slider, curveball, and forkball. However, he consistently struggled with control, often recording a walk rate exceeding 5.0 per nine innings, and frequently issuing hit-by-pitches, wild pitches, and throwing errors. He later reflected on his surprise at how "extremely narrow" the professional strike zone felt compared to his amateur days. Towards the end of his pitching career, his fastball velocity declined, and even his once-effective slider became difficult to control.

4.2. Hitting and Fielding Attributes

Takai possessed exceptional natural hitting talent, evident from his ability to hit home runs even during his pitching career. This offensive potential was a key factor in his transition to an outfielder. Despite a seven-year hiatus from consistent hitting since high school, he dedicated himself to improving his batting. He recalled that upon converting, he "couldn't hit even middle-middle fastballs, so I just swung a lot" to regain his feel. As an outfielder, he was noted for his strong arm, a valuable asset inherited from his pitching days.

4.3. Speed and Other Skills

Yuhei Takai was also a remarkably fast runner, recording a fastest 50-meter dash time of 5.8 seconds (manual measurement). In 2012, there were discussions about utilizing him as a "two-way player" (both pitcher and fielder) due to the removal of extra-inning time limits in NPB. While manager Atsushi Ogawa did propose this "two-way" role, Takai declined, opting to focus solely on his development as a position player. Throughout his career, he notably wore the jersey numbers of three former Yakult Swallows legends: number 16 (worn by Kazuhisa Ishii), number 22 (worn by Shingo Takatsu), and number 41 (worn by Atsunori Inaba).

5.1. Appointment and Roles

On November 8, 2021, it was announced that Yuhei Takai would join the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles as their minor league (second team) hitting coach for the 2022 season, wearing jersey number 84. For the 2023 season, he was promoted to the first-team hitting coach. However, on May 26, 2023, due to the team's struggles, including a league-worst batting average of .209 and only 121 runs scored by May 25, he was reassigned back to the second-team hitting coach position, swapping roles with Toshiaki Imae.

6.1. Yearly Batting Statistics

6.2. Yearly Pitching Statistics

6.3. Yearly Fielding Statistics

7.1. Family and Relationships

Both of Yuhei Takai's parents were junior high school teachers. His older brother, Daisuke, pursued a career as an acrobat dancer and street performer. A unique connection from his childhood is with the Japanese talent Becky, who was one year his senior in both elementary and junior high school. This relationship led to Becky sending him an autographed message when he joined the Yakult Swallows.

During his junior high school years, Takai was a teammate with Satoshi Miyata of the vocal group BREATHE in a little league baseball team. Miyata also attended Tohoku High School, like Takai. This friendship led Takai to adopt BREATHE's song "Tomorrows" as his walk-up music in 2014. For the 2015 season, his walk-up song featured lyrics that cleverly incorporated his full name, "Takai Yuhei" (高井 雄平_{Takai Yūhei}^Japanese), within the Japanese text. The original melody for this particular walk-up song was derived from the "Sugoroku March" from the "Momotaro Dentetsu" video game series, specifically the "Momotetsu 15" version.