Kensuke Tanaka

Kensuke Tanaka (田中 賢介, born May 20, 1981) is a Japanese former professional baseball second baseman and left fielder. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants.

Career

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Tanaka played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 2000 through 2012.

San Francisco Giants Tanaka made his Major League debut with the San Francisco Giants, in left field, on July 9, 2013, against the New York Mets despite playing almost exclusively second base with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Giants' Triple–A affiliate, the Fresno Grizzlies. He was designated for assignment by San Francisco on September 3, and released the next day.

Texas Rangers Tanaka signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on December 20, 2013. He played in 62 games for the Triple–A Round Rock Express in 2014, batting .258/.340/.371 with four home runs, 27 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. Tanaka was released by the Rangers organization on July 20, 2014.

Personal life Tanaka is married to Japanese Sapporo TV reporter Chiho Nishimori (西森千芳).