Kazuhisa Makita


Kazuhisa Makita is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball. He previously played for the Saitama Seibu Lions of NPB and for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball.

Career

Japan

Makita played collegiately at Heisei Kokusai University but was not drafted out college. He went on to play for Nippon Express in the Japanese industrial leagues for several years after college before being selected by the Saitama Seibu Lions with their second pick in the 2010 Nippon Professional Baseball Draft.
Makita played seven seasons with the Saitama Seibu Lions, compiling a career 2.83 earned run average with 514 strikeouts and 206 walks in 921⅓ innings. Makita was named the Pacific League Rookie of the Year in 2011 after recording 22 saves and a 2.61 ERA in 55 appearances. Makita was also named a NPB All-Star in 2011 and 2013.

San Diego Padres

On December 1, 2017, the Lions announced that they would be posting Makita to be made available to MLB teams before the end of the month. On January 6, 2018, Makita signed a two-year contract with the San Diego Padres. He made 27 appearances on the season, registering an ERA of 5.40 in 35 innings. Makita had his contract selected by the Padres on June 17, 2019, but was designated for assignment the next day without making an appearance for the club. He elected free agency on October 1.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

On November 26, 2019, Makita signed with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

International Career

Makita played for the Japan national baseball team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, 2014 MLB Japan All-Star Series, 2015 exhibition series against Europe, 2015 WBSC Premier12, and 2017 World Baseball Classic as a relief pitcher.
In 2014, Makita was one of four pitchers who combined to throw a no-hitter for Samurai Japan against a team of Major League players in the MLB-Japan All-Star Series at the Tokyo Dome.

Playing style

With an unconventional submarine delivery, Makita throws a fastball which sits at 80 mph, a sinker, a slider, and a curveball. Makita's pace is very quick; he took approximately eight seconds between pitches in 2016, making him the fastest-working pitcher in NPB that season.