As coach Kenichi Nakata (中田 賢一, born November 5, 1982) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher, and current the first squad pitching coach for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
[1] He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chunichi Dragons, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and the Hanshin Tigers.
On November 28, 2013, Nakata agreed to a four-year contract for 70 million yen and Incentive with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
[6] On September 28, 2021, Nakata announced he would retire from professional baseball after 17 seasons in NPB.
[7] After his retirement, Nakata was appointed as the third squad pitching coach of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the 2022 season.