Japanese veteran hurler Kenta Maeda was recently signed by the Detroit Tigers for a two-year, $24,000,000 deal. Having signed back in 2016 with the LA Dodgers, Maeda has fared well in the league.
Maeda is married to Saho Narushima, who has been a pillar of support for him throughout his baseball career.
Narushima was born on July 19th, 1985, in Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan. In her professional life, she likes to write blogs and is a TV reporter as well. The pair dated each other for a couple of years before marrying in January 2012. The couple are proud parents to a boy and a girl, as reported by Wtfoot.
Narushima also shares an interest in the culinary arts, having posted numerous cooking videos on her social media. She even published a cookbook in February 2015 titled, "Maeda ke no shokutaku: Tabete karada o Totonoeru Reshipi."
She boasts an Instagram following of 12.5k fans, though, she keeps her social handles private. She is often spotted attending Maeda's games, showcasing her support for her partner. Since moving to LA, Saho has continued to write blogs, discussing the experiences of living in a new country.
In one of her blogs on Ameba(a Japanese social media platform), she disclosed that while traffic in LA is terrible, the heat is bearable as compared to Japan.
After Kenta Maeda's first start with the Dodgers, he disclosed the congratulatory message from his wife:
"She was especially happy with the way it turned out … I’m glad she was happy with the way everything worked out in the first game." [via LA Times].
Kenta Maeda's MLB career
The 35-year-old signed an eight-year, $25 million contract with the Dodgers ahead of the 2016 season.
The Dodgers traded Maeda and Jar Camargo to the Minnesota Twins, who also received cash considerations. The players moving to the other side were Brusdar Graterol, Luke Raley, and the 67th overall selection in the 2020 MLB draft.
In 2020, he went 6-1 with an ERA of 2.70 and a league-leading 0.750 WHIP, propelling him to second behind Shane Beiber in AL Cy Young voting. He missed the entire 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery.
In 2023, he had a record of 6-8, ERA of 4.23 and 117 strikeouts across 21 appearances (20 starts).