Full Text] Returning to Japanese Baseball for the First Time in 11 Years! Kenta Maeda, Rakuten: “There are more than 20 routines that I always do every day.

Good Rhythm, Good Habit

Maeken-san” is fine!

When a reporter asked Maeda if he could be called “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 hear opinions from the top. If they ask me what they should do, I try to give them advice.

Maeda is famous for his “Maeken gymnastics,” in which he rotates both shoulders in a circular motion, and his routine of swinging his arms backward several times on the mound with them outstretched to his sides. The routine varies from year to year, but it includes such lifestyle habits as sleeping seven and a half hours a night. The first time he did this was in his second year as a professional baseball player in Hiroshima, against Nippon Ham in June of 2008.

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 thought it was a good rhythm, so I bought the same thing 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 must follow every day,” he says.

The routine is not just a matter of getting a good omen.

I am a very nervous person. If I don’t get results, I get anxious and 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 is in front of you, so your feelings are organized and you have more room in your mind. I can convince myself that I can pitch well because I am doing what I do when I am in good shape. It’s like a ritual for victory.

Another thing Maeda values is “composure.

Another thing Maeda values is “composure. 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 is why I think I have been very efficient since 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 it would be meaningless if I got injured. I wanted to be relaxed for my own performance.

For the second part, click here [Full text] 20% leeway is important! Kenta Maeda, Rakuten: “Mr. Darvish has influenced me in every aspect.

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