“From a ‘Rising Star’ to a Threat to the First-Team’s Core Players”: The “Downfall” of a Former Carp Player—From Promising Prospect to Arrest on Fraud Charges

Stealing a wallet from a man who was asleep after drinking

Shortly before 9:00 a.m. on September 8, a tall man with brown hair emerged from the Ikegami Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department, looking happy for some reason with a broad smile on his face. Was he reminiscing about his glory days, when he was surrounded by cameras? Or could he not help but laugh at himself for having become a suspect in a fraud case?

By September 7, the Ikegami Police Station had arrested Daisuke Tada (30), a former player for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp professional baseball team. He is suspected of fraud involving the use of a credit card issued in someone else’s name.

“Suspect Tada is suspected of paying a 3,500-yen usage fee at a private video room in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, around 5:00 p.m. on June 13 using a credit card in the name of a man in his 20s.
The incident came to light when a man in his 20s, who had been sleeping while intoxicated at a bus stop in front of JR Kinshicho Station, reported to the police: ‘My wallet was gone while I was asleep. When I checked my credit card, I saw transaction history, so it seems someone used it.’The man reportedly began drinking on the evening of the 12th and noticed his wallet was missing in the early hours of the 13th after falling asleep on an outdoor bench.

A subsequent investigation of security camera footage led to the identification and arrest of suspect Tada. During questioning, he stated, “I took the wallet from the man who was asleep after drinking. I did it because I was short on money.” “There are also signs that he purchased groceries at a convenience store, and authorities are investigating any connection,” said a reporter from the crime desk of a national newspaper.

Tada was selected by the Hiroshima Carp in the seventh round of the 2014 draft and remained with the team until 2017.

“Suspect Tada is from Tokushima Prefecture. As a third-year student at Naruto Uzushio High School, he drew attention from scouts not only for his strong throwing arm—including five assists in the spring prefectural tournament final—but also as a large-framed catcher standing 189 cm tall and weighing 91 kg.He signed with Hiroshima for a signing bonus of 25 million yen and an annual salary of 4.5 million yen (both estimated). ‘His strong arm, power, and physique are outstanding.His demeanor was uncharacteristic of a high school student, and we hoped he would become a threat to the first-team starters,” said Yoshihisa Shirabu, then head of scouting, expressing high hopes for him” (sports newspaper reporter).

However, he never made a single first-team appearance for Hiroshima and was released in 2017. In an interview with a sports newspaper at the time , he said, “I still don’t feel like I’ve given it my all. I want to keep playing as long as I’m able.”

“BreakingDown,” a Mysterious “Obituary”…

“He had been playing for an adult club team since ’18 but retired in ’19.After that, he played for a softball team and performed well enough to compete in the national tournament; it seems he also moved around, working as a player-coach for a corporate club team and playing for various softball teams. During this time, he moved from Hiroshima to Osaka, and on social media, he revealed that he had been working at a bar in Kitashinchi” (ibid.)

However, starting around last year, he seemed to be somewhat adrift, as evidenced by his audition for “BreakingDown.” What particularly shocked the public was the following “obituary” posted on his social media in July of this year:

“We have received his login information and are currently updating his account. The liver cancer he had been suffering from for some time has recurred, and although he had been battling the disease since late May, he passed away on June 21.

She asked us to convey her final message: ‘I am sorry for the trouble I caused so many people during my lifetime,’ so we are making this announcement.” (Exact quote)

“It sent shockwaves through the fan community. With no further information available and his whereabouts unknown, the news of his arrest inadvertently served as ‘confirmation that he was alive.’ There were also reports that he was a gambling addict with debt, but the truth of those claims is unclear.It appears he had recently been living in Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture, working in civil engineering, but it’s certain he was short on money.” (Ibid.)

At the top of suspect Tada’s social media page—which had 1,200 followers—was a post with the hashtag #PleaseShareRT that read, “I’m hoping for the cooperation of Carp fans so I can somehow match the number of followers I had back then,” accompanied by a screenshot of what appeared to be an account from his Carp days.That account had 11,111 followers.

Perhaps he was always dreaming of that glorious past somewhere in the back of his mind. However, with this incident, he has fallen to a point of no return.

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