Ken'ya Nagasaka

Ken'ya Nagasaka is the kind of player who flies completely under the radar until you actually watch him work behind the plate — and then you get it. A seventh-round pick out of Tohoku Fukushi University who spent his whole life as team captain, from elementary school all the way through college, which tells you something about the guy before you've even seen him throw. And that arm is real: clocking in around 1.9 seconds to second base, the kind of number that makes base-stealers think twice. The fun footnote in his career is that back-to-back home run across the 2019–2020 season boundary, technically a first in NPB history — not the glamour stat anyone imagines for a backup catcher, but honestly that's very on-brand for him. He also picked up a goofy nickname after an interview where he just kept saying he was "shivering" with excitement, which somehow made him more endearing. He idolizes Tigers legend Norio Yano, trains like a lifer, and quietly earns his spot on the roster every year. Not a star — a cornerstone type.

Ken'ya Nagasaka is a Japanese professional baseball player born on April 28, 1994. He attended Tohoku Fukushi University before beginning his career in baseball. He stands 173 cm tall. Further personal and career details are not publicly disclosed.

Name (English)

Ken'ya Nagasaka

Name (Japanese)

長坂拳弥

Reading

ながさか けんや

Born

April 28, 1994 (age 32)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Taurus / Dog (戌)

Origin

Japan

Height

173cm

Occupation

Baseball player

University

Tohoku Fukushi University

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%95%B7%E5%9D%82%E6%8B%B3%E5%BC%A5

Tags

• baseball player

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.