There are more than 20 routines”… Returning to Japan after 11 years! Rakuten’s Kenta Maeda: “20% leeway is important.

Yes, he ate gummy bears.

Just call me ‘Maeken-san’!”

When a reporter asked how to call him “Maeda-san” or “Maeken-san,” Kenta Maeda, 37, of Rakuten, responded in a friendly manner.

Maeda, who has won a total of 68 games in the majors, has returned to Japanese baseball for the first time in 11 years. He is a “legend,” but he does not appear to be a big shot. During practice, he jokes around with the younger players and actively communicates with them.

I don’t have that kind of character,” Maeda said. There are players who are more than a year younger than me, but when I talk with them, I often learn from them. I don’t say to the younger players, “I think like this. I don’t like to give opinions from the top. If they ask me a question, I try to give them advice.

Maeda is well known for his “Maeken exercises,” in which he rotates both shoulders in a circular motion, and for his routine on the mound, in which he swings his arms out to the left and right and backward several times. The first time he did this was in June 2008, in his second year as a professional baseball player in Hiroshima, against Nippon Ham.

I pitched a no-hitter into the seventh inning and got my first professional win. I wanted to keep the momentum going,” he said, looking back on what he did before his first win the day before his next start (against the Giants). …… I remembered, ‘Yes, I ate yogurt and gummy bears. I bought the same thing because it was a good rhythm and went to the Giants game and won two games in a row, scoring one run in seven innings!　I knew I had no choice but to continue, so I gradually adopted good habits, and now I have more than 20 routines that I always follow.

One hundred percent won’t hold you back.”

The routine is not simply a matter of having a good experience.

I’m a very nervous person. If I don’t get results, I get depressed. But if I do my routine without hesitation, I don’t have to think about whether or not I can do it today. You can concentrate on what’s in front of you, so you have more time on your mind. I can convince myself that I can pitch well because I am doing what I do when I am in good shape.

Another thing Maeda values is “composure.

He says, “I know I am repeating myself, but what is important is to have a relaxed mindset. If you give 100% effort every day, your body and mind will not be able to handle it. Even if you practice hard to the limit, if you don’t get results, you will feel depressed.

That’s why I think I was good at the essentials from my high school days (PL Gakuen, Osaka, Japan). I pretended to train as hard as I could, but sometimes I relaxed. You might think I was slacking off, but I wanted to be “relaxed” for my own performance.

Even after I became a professional player, there were games in which I realized the importance of “relaxing. It was against Yakult in April 2010, against Hiroyasu Tanaka.

I got him to two strikes, but I didn’t want him to keep fouling out. So I decided to get him to hit and play with the next hitter, so I threw the ball low to the outer corner with about 80% effort.

The moment I threw the ball, I thought, “What? I thought. The swing of the arm, the release point, the course, everything was perfect, and I got a strikeout. The “20% leeway” pitch was the catalyst for my breakthrough. That year, I won double digits for the first time (the most wins with 15) and was selected for the Sawamura Award.

Maeda’s brilliant career continued for 10 years in the major leagues. While passing on his experiences in Japan and the U.S. to his younger colleagues, Maeda is aiming for his first “Japan No. 1” title with his “relaxed” pitching style.

The April 17-23 issue of “FRIDAY” on sale on April 3 and the paid version of “FRIDAY GOLD” introduce his secret story, including the kizuna with Yu Darvish, whom he says “has influenced him in every aspect. The magazine also features many tasteful illustrations in his own handwriting and photos of his interactions with young people.

For more details and multiple photos, click here↓.

From the April 17/24, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY