Kenta Maeda, Rakuten: “Mr. Darvish has influenced me in every aspect! Kenta Maeda, Rakuten: “Mr. Darvish has influenced me in all aspects.

In addition to his routine, Maeda also emphasizes the importance of “composure.

What I value is a relaxed mindset. If I give 100% effort every day, my 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.

Click here for Part I . [Full text] Kenta Maeda returns to Japanese baseball after 11 years! Rakuten’s Kenta Maeda: “I have more than 20 routines that I always do every day.

Everything is a perfect ball.

Even after joining the pro ranks, there have been games that made me realize the importance of ‘spaciousness.’ It was against Yakult in April 2010, against Hiroyasu Tanaka.

I got him to two strikes, but I didn’t want him to foul me out. So I decided to have him get a 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. In that game, I pitched eight scoreless innings to become the winning pitcher as I checked my feel for Mr. Tanaka.
Until then, I had sometimes pitched with all my might because I didn’t want to get hit by a pitch, but pitching with “20% leeway” was the start of a great leap forward. 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 record of winning the most games twice and having the best defensive record three times led him to the Majors in 2004. However, Maeda says he was not interested in the majors from the start.

When I was a kid, I wasn’t interested at all,” Maeda said. It was only after Darvish (Yu) in 2012 and Masahiro (Tanaka) in 2002 that I became interested. Both of these pitchers were dominant in Japan, with defensive ratios in the single digits. When I saw pitchers of that caliber struggling in the majors, scoring in the 3s and 4s, I wondered what kind of world it was. I wanted to play at such a high level.

Influences and Goals

Maeda says that Darvish, with whom he often shared meals in Japan, has influenced him in all aspects of baseball. He says he watches Darvish’s videos and learns everything from training methods to how to take supplements. In a game against the Indians in September 2008, he had an unexpected effect because the start of the game was delayed by rain and there was time to spare.

I looked at my phone and saw that Darvish had posted a video explaining how to throw a two-seam. I wasn’t confident in my two-seam. Darvish was throwing an amazing pitch that entered the strike zone from a spot where it almost hit the left-hander’s body. I thought, “I want to throw a pitch like that,” and I threw it with the same feel Darvish talked about in the video, and it was really good. …… I even got a getaway in that game.”

The two met again a few days later in a game against the Cubs. Maeda was taught how to throw the two-seam again.

What is admirable about Mr. Darvish is that he is willing to share what he has learned through trial and error and teach it to anyone. A decade ago, it was common belief that teammates were also rivals and that one’s own techniques should not be made public. So, like Mr. Darvish, I try to answer any questions from junior players, regardless of the team. I would be happy if many players could grow by referring to what I have to say.

Maeda says that ever since he was in the Majors, he had the feeling that he wanted to “end up in Japan.

There was no definite time. But after 8 years with the Dodgers (my first contract) and 2 years with the Tigers (after becoming an FA), I thought it would be a good time to go back. I wanted to return to Japan while I was still healthy and get good results. I have never won a championship in Japan. My goal is to win the league championship with my fellow Rakuten members and become the best in Japan.

In order to achieve his goal, Maeda is going through his routine today to keep his mind in order.

From the April 17/24, 2026 issue of FRIDAY