Takenori Emoto

Takenori Emoto (江本 孟紀, born July 22, 1947) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball. He played for the Toei Flyers in 1971, the Nankai Hawks from 1972 to 1975, and the Hanshin Tigers from 1976 to 1981.

Emoto was unusually non-confirmative for a player, once almost being released by the team for letting his hair grow over his ears. After complaining publicly about being shuttled between starting and relief in 1981, he was forced to retire by his team the Hanshin Tigers. Despite being only 34 years old, he was prevented from pitching professionally again. In 1998, Emoto, as a member of the DPJ, was elected to the Japanese House of Councillors.