The Most With The Least: Hisanori Takahashi (2010)

Ever since Hideo Nomo burst onto the major league scene with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995, creating a craze at Chavez Ravine not seen since the days of Fernando-mania, the pipeline for Japanese players has remained quite active in the United States, particularly for the Mets.  Two years after Nomo became the first player from Japan to win the Rookie of the Year award - edging out future Mets killer Chipper Jones for the honor - the Mets signed their first Japanese player in reliever Takashi Kashiwada.

Kashiwada became the first of 15 players born in Japan to play for the Mets from 1997 to 2010, making Flushing the top destination in the major leagues for Japanese players.  However, none of the 15 athletes achieved the success and adulation that Nomo (who was one of the 15, becoming a Met in 1998) earned in Los Angeles.

Masato Yoshii won 12 games for the Mets in 1999 - albeit with a high ERA (4.40) and WHIP (1.30) - then fizzled in the postseason, pitching just 13 innings in three starts.  Tsuyoshi Shinjo became the first position player from Japan to don a Mets uniform in 2001.  But after a decade of being a rock star in Japan, he became soft rock in New York and was gone after just one somewhat productive season (returning for a shorter, less productive stint with the Mets in 2003).  And who could forget Kaz Matsui?  If the Mets signed him specifically to hit home runs in his first at-bat each season, then they were wildly successful, as Matsui did just that in each of this three years in New York.  But high expectations, in addition to temporarily displacing the more popular Jose Reyes to second base in 2004, caused the Matsui era in Flushing to be mostly forgettable.

It wasn't until 2010, when a lesser-known veteran pitcher joined the Mets, that the team found a Japanese player who actually exceeded expectations in New York.  He also developed an unexpected following and redefined himself during his one season with the Mets to became a lights-out reliever, helping the team improve by nine wins after a disappointing season the year before.

Hisanori Takahashi found success in New York in multiple roles.  (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Hisanori Takahashi played ten years in his native Japan from 2000 to 2009.  Unlike some of his more celebrated peers, Takahashi didn't begin his Japan Central League career until he was 25 years old.  And although he was a popular player in his home country, his career as a starting pitcher and sometimes reliever had its share of ups and downs.  He was an All-Star who helped the Yomiuri Giants win three championships, but he also had a number of poor seasons, which made several major league teams hesitant to sign him when he declared his interest to pitch in the United States as a 35-year-old in 2010.  But the Mets were a team in disarray and needed all the help they could get, especially in the pitching department.

After winning the N.L. East division crown in 2006 and falling one game short of the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, the Mets crumbled completely in 2009, finishing the year with a 70-92 record as several key players spent a significant amount of time on the disabled list.  One of the glaring weaknesses on the 2009 team was its pitching, as the staff finished the year with a 4.45 ERA - the third-worst mark in franchise history, surpassed by only the 2003 club (4.48 ERA) and the inaugural 1962 squad (5.04 ERA).

John Maine and Oliver Perez combined to make just 29 starts in 2009 and Johan Santana also had his season cut short due to injuries.  The only pitcher who remained healthy in 2009 and was guaranteed a spot in the starting rotation in 2010 was Mike Pelfrey, who became the first and only pitcher in team history to make 30 or more starts and finish the year with an ERA above 5.00, as he posted a 5.03 ERA in 31 starts during the nightmarish 2009 campaign.  Needless to say, the Mets went into the 2009-2010 off-season needing to bolster its pitching in the worst way.

A week before the start of spring training, the Mets signed Takahashi to a one-year, $1 million deal, with the potential to earn $2 million more in performance bonuses.  At the time, Anthony Nakanishi - who worked for Takahashi's team of agents - was quite optimistic for his agency's client.

"This could work out very well for the Mets," said Nakanishi.  "Hisanori is a bit of a late bloomer and like some other left-handed pitchers from Japan, like Hideki Okajima, his pitching style may translate even better in major league baseball.  Who knows, he could win 15 games.  It's a possibility."

Of course, Nakanishi had to say positive things about Takahashi to give Mets fans a reason to be optimistic and not boo his client from day one.  Those same fans had seen several Japanese players try to succeed in New York, with most of them failing miserably.  But predicting 15 wins for a pitcher competing for the role of fifth starter on a 70-win team?  That seemed like quite a stretch.  But before long, Nakanishi's words almost seemed prophetic, even after his client failed to earn a spot in the starting rotation coming out of spring training.

"What has my agent gotten me into?  15 wins?  Really?"  (Kyodo News, via AP)

Takahashi pitched very well for the Mets in his first spring training outside of Japan, holding opposing hitters to a .170 batting average and collecting 14 strikeouts in 13 innings of work.  But even with Jonathon Niese struggling in his Grapefruit League appearances, opening the potential for Takahashi to sneak into the rotation, manager Jerry Manuel preferred to see Takahashi in the bullpen.  When Opening Day arrived, the Mets' rotation consisted of Santana, Maine, Perez, Pelfrey and Niese, with Takahashi joining Pedro Feliciano as the team's second lefty option in the bullpen.

Takahashi's major league debut did not go well.  On April 7, 2010, the Mets erased a five-run, seventh-inning deficit against the Florida Marlins, scoring two runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth to tie the game, 6-6.  Closer Francisco Rodriguez had been used to preserve the tie in the top of the ninth inning, but was due to lead off in the bottom of the frame, causing Manuel to insert Ruben Tejada (who was also making his debut in the big leagues) into the game as a pinch hitter.  When Tejada and the rest of the team failed to push across a run, Manuel gave the ball to Takahashi to start the tenth, who allowed the Marlins to score the go-ahead run on two singles and a walk.  Takahashi was saddled with the loss in the debut, as the Mets fell to Florida, 7-6.

Although Takahashi did not have the debut he wanted, he quickly learned from his mistakes.  Manuel started to use Takahashi as a long man in the bullpen and was rewarded instantly.  From April 13 to May 16, Takahashi made 12 relief appearances, pitching three innings or more in four of those outings and striking out 32 batters in 23⅔ innings.  His best performance during the five-week stretch came on April 23, when he struck out seven Atlanta Braves hitters in three innings, earning his first big league victory in the process.

As the calendar flipped from April to May, the Mets found themselves in a surprising position - first place in the N.L. East.  But the seeds planted in April did not lead to a full bloom in May, as the Mets lost 13 of their first 18 games in the season's second month.  Games weren't the only things being dropped by the Mets, as three-fifths of the starting rotation went down, either to injury (Jonathon Niese strained his right hamstring) or ineffectiveness (Oliver Perez allowed too many long balls and John Maine allowed too many balls).  With all the tumult going on with the starting rotation, manager Jerry Manuel needed to make some decisions.  One of them was made when R.A. Dickey was inserted into the rotation, launching what became a magical three-year tenure in New York for the rejuvenated knuckleball pitcher.  Manuel's next decision involved Takahashi's move from the bullpen to make a start against the New York Yankees on May 21.  It was then that Takahashi's season really took off.

Takahashi pitched six scoreless innings against the Yankees in his first big league start, scattering five hits and striking out five batters.  But one year after Mets second baseman Luis Castillo made a costly error to give the Yankees a come-from-behind victory, it was another second sacker - Alex Cora - who tossed the game away.  Cora's throwing error on a potential double play ball was followed by a two-run double by seldom-used outfielder Kevin Russo.  (Russo had just four RBI in his entire major league career, with half of them coming in that one game-changing swing.)  Those were the only tallies needed by the Yankees in their 2-1 victory over the Mets.

The Mets lost the game, but found a new starting pitcher in Takahashi.  The southpaw continued his scoreless streak by putting six more zeroes on the scoreboard in his next start - a 5-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.  Although he had some hiccups along the way, Takahashi allowed one run or fewer in five of his 12 starts, which included a second brilliant performance against the Yankees on June 18, a game in which he threw another six scoreless innings.  This time, the bullpen and the defense came through for the Mets, as four relievers combined with Takahashi on the shutout.  Most importantly, the victory was the Mets' eighth straight and improved the team's record to 39-28.

Unfortunately, the Mets regressed from late June to early August, dropping 23 of 34 games to fall below .500 for the first time since late May.  The wheels came completely off the Mets' bus on August 11 when K-Rod attempted to KO his children's grandfather in the Citi Field family lounge after the team's 6-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies.  Rodriguez was arrested and missed the rest of the season with torn ligaments in his right thumb, which he suffered during the altercation.

A portrait of Citi Field's Least Wanted.  (Debbie Egan-Chin/NY Daily News)

Although the Mets were under .500 and their playoff hopes were all but gone, the team still needed to play the games on its schedule.  They also needed a closer for the rest of the season, with Rodriguez out for the year.  Once again, Manuel turned to Takahashi to fill a specific role and the 35-year-old responded with aplomb.

Takahashi got his first save opportunity on August 16, retiring the Houston Astros in order in the ninth inning of a 3-1 Mets victory.  From that point to the end of the season, Takahashi was brilliant in his new role, earning three wins and going 8-for-8 in save opportunities.  In 19 appearances, Takahashi had a 0.84 ERA and 0.94 WHIP, holding opposing hitters to a .197/.247/.289 slash line, which was slightly better than the .213/.289/.308 slash line allowed by Rodriguez prior to his season-ending scuffle.

The Mets ended the 2010 season with a 79-83 record, which represented a nine-game improvement over their 2009 performance.  Takahashi's first season in the majors was an unexpected success.  Although he didn't quite reach the 15 wins predicted by his agent at the beginning of the year, he did notch ten wins and eight saves, becoming the fifth Met - and the first since 1986 - to reach double digits in wins while saving eight or more games, joining Tug McGraw (11 wins, 8 saves in 1971), Skip Lockwood (10 wins, 19 saves in 1976), Jesse Orosco (13 wins, 17 saves in 1983; 10 wins, 31 saves in 1984) and Roger McDowell (14 wins, 22 saves in 1986) in this exclusive club.  But those four pitchers combined to make one start in their spectacular seasons (McGraw got a no-decision in that start), meaning they earned all their wins in relief.  Takahashi was the only true starter/reliever hybrid of the group, earning four of his wins as a starting pitcher.  Takahashi was also the Mets' first "rookie" pitcher to earn 10 or more wins in his inaugural major league season since 1985, when Rick Aguilera posted a 10-7 record as a first-year player for the team.

Unfortunately, once the 2010 season ended, the Mets cleaned house, ridding themselves of manager Jerry Manuel and general manager Omar Minaya.  The new regime (featuring Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson) did not see the soon-to-be 36-year-old Takahashi as part of the team's future and allowed him to become a free agent, ending the respected pitcher's one-year stay in New York.  Takahashi spent the next three seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs, before returning to Japan to pitch for the Yokohama Bay Stars in 2014.

There have been many pitchers in team history who were never expected to amount to much when they joined the big league roster.  Except for his agent, no one expected Hisanori Takahashi to contribute much to the team.  But the left-hander silenced all his critics, and in doing so, became one of the most appreciated Japanese players to ever play for the Mets.

Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

"Eight months here in the United States, I'll spend most of the time in New York.  I kind of like New York."

--Hisanori Takahashi (September 2010)

 


And New York kind of liked Takahashi back.  After years of high expectations for Japanese players such as Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Kaz Matsui, it was a player originally brought in to compete for the fifth starter job that finally succeeded in every role he was called upon to fill.

Hisanori Takahashi had a short career in New York, but accomplished things that very few pitchers in team history had been able to do.  In a year that provided very few highlights for the Mets, Takahashi was a bright spot, making the most of his varied opportunities and giving Mets fans a reason to cheer whenever he set foot on the mound.



Note:  The Most With The Least is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets players who performed at a high level without receiving the accolades or playing time their more established teammates got, due to injuries, executive decisions or other factors.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 4, 2016: Benny Agbayani
January 11, 2016: Donn Clendenon
January 18, 2016: Tim Teufel

A Not-So-Brief Discussion On No-Hitters And The Mets

When R.A. Dickey gave up a second-inning double to the Braves' Freddie Freeman during today's rubber match, it marked the 7,980th consecutive game that a Mets pitcher has failed to pitch a no-hitter.  How many games have the Mets played in their half century of existence?  7,980.

Barring any rainouts or (heaven forbid) an actual no-hitter in the next 20 games, the Mets' streak will reach 8,000 games on Friday, May 11 when the team plays the Miami Marlins in their new park for the first time.  These are the same Marlins who have only been in existence since 1993, but have registered four no-hitters of their own (tossed by Al Leiter, Kevin Brown, A.J. Burnett and Anibal Sanchez).

As of this writing, there have been 272 no-hitters in major league history, with 229 of them occurring in the modern era (since the forming of the American League in 1901).  The Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers have pitched the most no-hitters in history with 20, while the Mets and San Diego Padres have yet to pitch their first.

Of course, may of those 272 hitless games took place before the Mets came into existence in 1962.  Since the Mets played the first of their 7,980 games, there have been a total of 129 no-hitters pitched in the big leagues.  Let's look at that list to see what random goodies we can find.

Tom Seaver came oh-so-close to pitching a no-hitter for the Mets on several occasions.

When the Mets came into the league in 1962, they were one of two teams to join the National League.  The Houston Colt .45s (you know them as the Astros) were also National League neophytes in 1962, but they didn't take very long to join the no-hit parade.  On May 17, 1963, Houston's Don Nottebart pitched the first no-hitter in the team's short history, holding the Philadelphia Phillies hitless (but not scoreless) in a 4-1 victory.  If you just said "Don who?" when you read the last sentence, you're probably not alone.  It was one of only 36 wins in Nottebart's nine-year career, a career in which he was used mostly as a reliever (Nottebart appeared in 296 games in the majors, of which only 89 were starts).

Although the Mets have never pitched a no-hitter, they have had three occasions in which a no-hitter was taken into the ninth inning, with Tom Seaver being on the mound for all three.  Of course, the one everyone remembers is the "imperfect game".  On July 9, 1969, Seaver was two outs away from a perfect game when the Cubs' Jimmy Qualls broke up the bid with a single.  "The Franchise" retired the next two hitters and settled for a one-hit shutout.  Seaver's mound opponent that night, Ken Holtzman, clearly learned a thing or two from watching Tom Terrific's performance.  On August 19, exactly 41 days after No. 41's near-perfecto, Holtzman pitched the first of his two career no-hitters.  You just can't make that stuff up.

Tom Seaver took two other no-hitters into the ninth inning during his tenure with the Mets.  On July 4, 1972, in the first game of an Independence Day doubleheader, Seaver once again recorded 25 outs before allowing his first hit (although this time he mixed in four walks).  But the Padres' Leron Lee broke up Seaver's no-hit bid in the ninth with a one-out single to center, just one batter before Nate Colbert ended the game by grounding into a double play.  Three years later, Seaver was once again on the precipice of baseball immortality, but this time he got a little closer.

On September 24, 1975, six years after his first date with no-hit destiny, Seaver held the Cubs hitless through eight innings.  After striking out Don Kessinger and Rick Monday to start the ninth inning, Seaver became the first Met to come within one out of a no-hitter.  There was only one problem.  He wasn't winning the game at the time.  The Mets and Cubs were locked in a scoreless battle when Joe Wallis came up to the plate with two outs in the ninth.  If Seaver had retired Wallis, he'd have pitched nine hitless innings, but would technically not have pitched a no-hitter since the game would not have ended there.  Alas, Seaver did not retire Wallis, as the Cubs' rightfielder broke up the no-hit bid with a single.  The game went into extra innings, with Seaver allowing two more hits in the tenth, before Skip Lockwood lost the game in the 11th on a single and three walks.

No other pitcher has taken a no-hitter into the ninth inning for the Mets, but Tom Glavine and John Maine came the closest to doing so, both pitching 7⅔ hitless innings in their gems in 2004 and 2007, respectively.  (Dang you, Kit Pellow and Paul Hoover, for being the no-names who broke up those no-hitters!)

Despite not having a no-hitter to their credit, the Mets have pitched 35 one-hitters, with one coming in the post-season (Bobby Jones' NLDS-clinching victory over San Francisco in 2000).  However, a number of the pitchers who participated in these one-hitters went on to pitch no-hitters elsewhere.  The first pitcher who comes to mind is Nolan Ryan, who pitched a record seven no-hitters over his career, but never threw one for the Mets.  He did pitch one of the team's 35 one-hitters, allowing only a first-inning single to the Phillies' Denny Doyle on April 18, 1970.  (Ironically, Ryan's mound opponent in the game was Jim Bunning, who pitched a perfect game against the Mets in 1964.)  Other pitchers who hurled one-hitters for the Mets and then went on to pitch a no-hitter elsewhere include Tom Seaver (June 16, 1978 for the Cincinnati Reds), Dwight Gooden (May 14, 1996 for the New York Yankees) and David Cone (July 18, 1999, also for the Yankees).

Shawn Estes (left), Tom Seaver (center) and R.A. Dickey (right) have combined to throw 20% of the Mets' 35 one-hitters.  But Estes and Dickey have a long way to go to match The Franchise in wins.

Ryan, Seaver, Gooden and Cone are the only four pitchers to throw a one-hitter for the Mets before pitching a no-hitter elsewhere.  However, they are not the only four who played for the Mets but pitched a no-hitter elsewhere.  In fact, there have been a few former Mets who pitched no-hitters after leaving New York and even more who pitched their no-hitters before joining the Mets.

Mike Scott had a lackluster career for the Mets, to say the least, going 14-27 for New York from 1979 to 1982.  But once he became a Houston Astro and learned the split-finger fastball from original Met Roger Craig, his career took off.  Four years after throwing his final pitch for the Mets, Scott threw the last pitch of the first division-clinching no-hitter in league history.  Another former Met who threw a no-hitter after leaving New York was Hideo Nomo, who pitched for the Mets in 1998 and then pitched a no-hitter for the Boston Red Sox in 2001.  Nomo also threw a no-hitter before joining the Mets, victimizing the Colorado Rockies in 1996 while a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In addition to Nomo, nine other pitchers threw no-hitters before coming to the Mets.  Those lucky nine include:

• Don Cardwell: no-hitter in 1960 (Chicago Cubs); was a Met from 1967-1970
• Warren Spahn: no-hitters in 1960 and 1961 (Milwaukee Braves); was a Met in 1965
• Dean Chance: no-hitter in 1967 (Minnesota Twins); was a Met in 1970
• Dock Ellis: no-hitter in 1970 while tripping on acid (Pittsburgh Pirates); was a Met in 1979
• John Candelaria: no-hitter in 1976 (Pittsburgh Pirates); was a Met in 1987
• Bret Saberhagen: no-hitter in 1991 (Kansas City Royals); was a Met from 1992-1995
• Scott Erickson: no-hitter in 1994 (Minnesota Twins); was a Met in 2004
• Kenny Rogers: perfect game in 1994 (California Angels); was a Met in 1999
• Al Leiter: no-hitter in 1996 (Florida Marlins); was a Met from 1998 to 2004

Notice that of the ten total pitchers (including Nomo), only three (Cardwell, Saberhagen, Leiter) were with the Mets for more than one season.   If the Mets were hoping to get some of that no-hit magic from the other seven when they acquired them, they realized quickly that their best days were long behind them.

A no-no before New York.  A no-no after New York.  But no no-no for Nomo in New York.  No fair.

Finally, not every streak that involves a no-hit drought involves the Mets.  As mentioned earlier, almost every team has pitched at least one no-hitter and several teams have pitched more than a handful.  But the Mets aren't alone when it comes to no-hit futility.  In fact, the Mets' 50-year streak without a no-hitter isn't the longest a team has gone without one.  That "honor" belongs to the Philadelphia Phillies, who once went 58 years without a no-no.  After Johnny Lush kept the Brooklyn Superbas (that's what the Dodgers called themselves back then) hitless on May 1, 1906, no Phillies pitcher was able to match Lush's performance until Jim Bunning turned the trick with a perfect game on June 21, 1964 against the Mets.  Although Bunning's gem was the second of six no-hitters pitched against the Mets, it remains the only perfect game tossed against New York.

So there you have it, my friends.  You've just read my not-so-brief discussion on the Mets and their history (or lack of) with no-hitters.  By this time next month, the Mets might have played their 8,000th consecutive game without celebrating a no-no.  But the Mets have been known to surprise us in the past, and the possibility remains, however slim, that the streak will end before it reaches the magic 8,000-game mark.

Hey, if Don Nottebart could do it, than why can't a Met?  It's just one of those incredible things that makes baseball (and being a Mets fan) so amazin'.


Epilogue:  On April 21, 2012, just three days after this discussion was originally posted, former Met Philip Humber pitched a perfect game for the Chicago White Sox.  It was the 18th no-hitter in White Sox history and the third perfect game.  It was also the third no-hitter in the past six seasons for the Pale Hose.  Adding to the Mets connection, in each of the last two no-hitters (both of which were perfect games), a former Met was involved.  Mark Buehrle's perfect game in 2009 was caught by former Met Ramon Castro and Humber's perfect game saw Robin Ventura in the dugout as the White Sox manager.

So here's a tip to fans of no-hitters.  If you want to see one in person, find a major league matchup that features the most former Mets.  Your chances to be an eyewitness to history will increase dramatically if you do.