Masahiro Tanaka Emphasizes Balance in Career, Credits Yu Darvish’s Influence

In addition to his routines, what Maeda values is “leeway.”

“What I value is mental room. If you try to give 100% every day and live without any breathing room, neither body nor mind will last. Even if you train to the limit, if results don’t come, you get discouraged. That’s why I think I was pretty efficient even back in high school (PL Gakuen in Osaka). I would pretend to train at full effort, but sometimes ease off. It might look like slacking, but if I got injured it would be pointless. For my own performance, I needed that ‘leeway’ in my mindset.”

Part one is here: [Full text] Back after 11 years in Japanese baseball! Rakuten’s Maeda Kenta: “I have more than 20 daily routines I never skip”

An almost perfect pitch

There was a game after turning pro where he truly felt the importance of “leeway.” It was the April 2010 game against Yakult, facing Hiroyasu Tanaka.

“Tanaka is a very persistent hitter. I had him at two strikes, but I didn’t want him fouling off pitch after pitch. So I thought I’d rather give up a hit and face the next batter, and I threw an outside-low pitch at about 80% effort. The moment I released it, I thought, ‘Huh?’ My arm motion, release point, and location were all perfect—it became a strikeout. In that game, while testing my feel against Tanaka, I ended up pitching eight scoreless innings and got the win.

Until then, I sometimes pitched at full power out of fear of being hit, but that ‘20% leeway pitching’ became a turning point. That year, I recorded my first double-digit wins (15 wins, most in the league) and won the Sawamura Award.”

After two wins as the league leader and three ERA titles, Maeda moved to MLB in ’16. However, he says he wasn’t initially interested.

“When I was a kid, I had no interest at all. I only became interested around ’12 when Yu Darvish went over, and around ’14 when Masahiro Tanaka went to MLB. Those two were dominant in Japan with sub-2.00 ERAs. Seeing pitchers like that struggle in MLB with 3.00 or 4.00 ERAs made me think, ‘What kind of world is that?’ I wanted to try a place with that level of competition.”

Influences and goals

The person Maeda says he has been influenced in every aspect of baseball by is his pioneer, Yu Darvish, with whom he has also shared meals several times in Japan. He says he has learned from Darvish’s videos, ranging from training methods to how to take supplements. In the September ’20 game against the Indians, a rain delay before the start unexpectedly had an impact.

“When I checked my phone, Darvish had uploaded a video explaining how to throw a two-seam fastball. I wasn’t confident in my two-seam. Darvish was throwing an incredible pitch that started near a left-handed batter’s body and then came back into the strike zone. I thought, ‘I want to throw a pitch like that,’ and when I tried throwing it with the feeling he described in the video, it worked really well I even got a double play in that game.”

A few days later, they met again in a game against the Cubs. Maeda once again received direct instruction from Darvish on how to throw the two-seam.

“What’s great about Darvish is that he openly shares what he has gained through trial and error and teaches anyone without hesitation. In the past, it was common to think that teammates were also rivals, so you shouldn’t publicly reveal your techniques. That’s why I try to be like Darvish and answer anything when younger players ask me, regardless of team. I’d be happy if many players improve by using what I share.”

Maeda says that even during his time in MLB, he had a desire to return to Japan in the end.

“There wasn’t a specific timing decided. But my first contract (Dodgers) was eight years, then two years with my next team (Tigers). After about 10 years, I felt it was probably the right timing. I wanted to come back while still in good shape and produce results. I’ve never won a championship in Japan. My goal is to win the league and become Japan Series champion with my teammates on Rakuten.”

To achieve that goal, Maeda continues his daily routines today to keep his mind in order.

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