Hitting always came pretty easy for Todd Takayoshi during his four-year career (1988-91) with the Hawaii Rainbows. He ranks in the top five in seven offensive categories in the UH record book. Takayoshi now hitting it off
as a batting coach
By Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comThe left-hand-hitting catcher ended his professional career in 1998, a year after leading the independent Western Baseball League with a .407 batting average playing for Reno, Nev.
He wanted to spend more time with his family, settling down in Spanaway, Wash., and took a job with Alaska Airlines. But, four years later, the urge to get back in baseball was still strong. He made some calls that led to his return to organized ball.
This summer he served as the hitting coach for the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Kernels, the Anaheim Angels' team in the Class A Midwest League. The Kernels tied for third in the 14-team league with a .259 batting average.
As a first-year coach, Takayoshi went to spring training with a simple approach.
"I kept my ears open and my mouth shut. Being a coach is quite a bit different from what it looked like coaches went through when I was a player," Takayoshi said. "There is a lot more responsibility. There is always something to think about, something in a player's swing to worry about.
"My head was spinning for a while, but our manager (Todd Claus) understood what I was going through this year and he kind of kept my responsibilities down, which helped me a lot."
Takayoshi also worked with the Cedar Rapids catchers.
"Todd showed me a lot of promise. We want him back next year," said Tony Reagins, Anaheim's director of player development. "Todd pays attention to detail and his knowledge is solid. I think it helped him being around veterans. There is room for improvement, but we want him back next year."
Takayoshi agrees with that assessment and said he will be back in Cedar Rapids next year with Claus, who was named the Midwest League 2002 Manager of the Year.
"Todd really deserved that award. He did a really good job," Takayoshi said. "He has a real high baseball IQ and I picked his brain every chance I got. He was pretty easy to work with and it was easy to ask him questions."
Takayoshi made it a point to be at the ballpark early every day. The thing he liked most about his players was he didn't have to make anyone come early for extra work.
"I was there and they were ready to work," he said.
As a player, Takayoshi felt he was able to simplify hitting and that's the idea he tried to impart to his players.
"The biggest thing I learned is how they can take something that is difficult and make it more difficult. You can fail seven out of 10 times, but that can make you an all-star. For the most part, hitting is a mental thing," Takayoshi said.
"You can put yourself in a slump or you can keep yourself going good because you are confident in the batters box. You hope the early work and the repetitions make the mechanics second nature. So, when you get in the box, that's your office and you have just one thing to concentrate on, hitting the ball."
He says several of his players are ready to move up the minor-league ladder, one of the satisfactions of his job. Another is watching a player battle out of a slump or trying to execute something in the box they have been working on.
"To sum it up, there are a lot of things I hope come easier next year. I had a good staff to work with this year and I learned a lot," Takayoshi said. "I was real happy with the guys. They worked hard."
Cedar Rapids was 81-57, won the Western Division second-half title, but lost in the second round of the league playoffs to eventual champion Peoria.
