Professional Baseball Player with Medical License Shares Future Dream, Unique in Japan

The good news came in the locker room, where the players’ sweat permeated the air. It was March 15th, the opening game of the season for “Kufu Hayate Ventures Shizuoka” (hereafter referred to as Kufu Hayate), which entered the minor league games of NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) this season. Keito Takeuchi (24) took the mound from the 5th inning against the Orix team. It was at 2:01 pm, just one minute after he threw his first pitch, that the announcement of the physician national exam results came.

“After I finished pitching and returned to the locker room, I checked my phone and received a message from my parents (about passing the exam). It was a relief.”

It marked the birth of the first professional baseball player in Japan with a medical license.

The protagonist of the manga series “Super Doctor K”, serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine from 1988 for over a decade, KAZUYA Nishijo, heals sports athletes in critical conditions with surgical skills akin to divine techniques. While aspiring for a future as an orthopedic surgeon, Takeuchi, who racks up strikeouts as a power pitcher, is truly a “Real Doctor K”. Selected for Japan’s U-15 national team during junior high, he later enrolled at Shizuoka Prefectural High School, the top school in the prefecture. As a senior, he formed a double ace duo with his classmate Aota Ikeda (24, DeNA → current Kufu Hayate). In the spring of his third year, they faced Osaka Toin, led by Akira Neo (24, currently with Chunichi), at Koshien and lost 8-11. Takeuchi declared, “I’ll end my baseball career after high school,” surprising those around him.

“When I was in the second year of junior high, I vaguely thought about my future and wanted to be involved in baseball even in my profession. When I considered wanting to be in a supportive role ultimately, and since I was reasonably good at studying at the time, I thought, ‘Then, let’s be a doctor involved in baseball.'”

He aimed for medical school and spent his three years in high school as a dual player in baseball and exam preparation. After practice, he sat at his desk from midnight, studying intensely with an average of five hours of sleep. After passing the entrance exam for Gunma University’s medical school while still playing baseball, his passion for baseball resurfaced, and he joined the university’s baseball team, composed of medical school students.

“I was able to participate in the Spring Koshien during my third year of high school, but I lost my form before the tournament, and my fastball temporarily dropped to the 120 km/h range. Even at Koshien, I was able to pitch despite that condition. Perhaps I wanted to play baseball again because of the regret I had at the time.”

After resuming baseball, he injured his elbow during practice and underwent surgery on his right elbow during his third year of college. Around the same time, there was a significant event for Takeuchi. Ikeda, with whom he had competed vigorously at Shizuoka High School, was drafted by DeNA in the draft.

“I was genuinely happy that Ikeda was able to go to the place where every baseball player wants to go. It became a motivation for me to aim for the top again and work hard in rehabilitation.”

Since medical school lasts for six years, he had time for rehabilitation. His pitching speed increased, and he measured 147 km/h in his fifth year. He began to hope that he might stand on the same stage as Ikeda.

Last year, his final year of university, he passed the tryouts for Kufu Hayate. During this spring’s camp, he completed the same practices as other players and studied at his desk until past midnight, starting in the evening, for the February national exam.

“I wanted to create a new path, so I worked hard at both. The point of divergence during student life when you have to weigh sports and studies will definitely come. I think most people choose one when that time comes, but you can do both. If I were to be drafted by one of the 12 NPB teams, it would attract attention, and if even one child thinks, ‘I can do it too,’ the challenge would have meaning.”

After the season started, he mainly pitched as a reliever in 13 games (as of May 20th). In his first start against Chunichi on April 18th, he broke the bat of Besedo, the batting champion of ’18, and got him to hit a flyout. While envisioning a future as a team doctor who can also provide direct guidance to players, he is currently giving his all. A doctor and an athlete. As a one-of-a-kind presence.

“I believe I’m the first doctor to break Besedo’s bat.”

His confident, smiling face, filled with joy, was that of a true athlete.

From the May 24, 2024 issue of FRIDAY