Japanese Baseball Cards: RIP Takeshi Yasuda

Sunday, February 21, 2021

RIP Takeshi Yasuda

Former Yakult Atoms and Swallows pitcher Takeshi Yasuda has passed away at age 73 from stomach cancer. Yasuda had attended Waseda University in the late 60's before spending a couple seasons playing for Daishowa Paper in the industrial leagues. He was the sixth round pick of the then Yakult Atoms in the 1971 draft and made his NPB debut as a 25 year old rookie the following season. He went 7-5 with a Central League leading 2.08 ERA that year, winning the Central League Rookie Of The Year Award. He also led the league with 50 appearances. He led the league in ERA and appearances again in 1973 with a 2.03 mark and 53 games and made the All Star team for the first time. He also set an NPB record with 81 consecutive innings in which he did not issue a walk.

He missed half the season in 1974 due to a right knee injury but became a regular member of the starting rotation for the Swallows for the next four years (although he still pitched in relief frequently). He was named to the Central League All Star team in 1975 and 1977. He started the first Nippon Series game in Swallows history in 1978, taking the loss in Game One against the Hankyu Braves. He also started Game Four and got knocked around by the Braves for four runs in 1 2/3 innings but the Swallows came back and won the game. Yakult ultimately won the Series in seven games.

He suffered another injury to his right knee in 1979 and then hurt his left knee in 1981, causing him to retire at the end of the season. He coached for the Swallows from 1982-86 and then again from 1990-94.

Yasuda had a number of baseball cards during his career in the Calbee, Yamakatsu, NST and Takara sets. He appeared with some regularity in the OB player sets that BBM has issued over the past 20 years as well along with a few of the Epoch sets. Here's a handful of his cards: