fastball falls in the mid 80 mph range, and his sinkers have different speeds. Two fall in the 66-70 mph range (Takatsu pitches these with a screwball mechanics, and these pitches sometimes are described as a changeup), while the other can reach 80 mph. He occasionally throws a curve as well. When Takatsu first arrived in the major leagues, commentators called his sinkers changeups, since they were so slow compared to conventional sinkers. He is one of the few closers that does not throw a good fastball or a hard breaking pitch, relying on good control to make batters hit themselves into outs. References External links 1968 births Asia University (Japan) alumni Baseball player-managers Chicago White Sox players Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Japanese expatriate baseball players in South Korea Japanese expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Japanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Japan Managers of baseball teams in Japan New York Mets players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Norfolk Tides players Kiwoom Heroes players Sinon Bulls players Baseball people from Hiroshima Tokyo Yakult Swallows managers Tokyo Yakult Swallows players Yakult Swallows players