Meet Japanese interpreter Daichi Sekizaki, who is essential for Tigers pitcher Kenta Maeda

Daichi Sekizaki wanted to work in sports.

Sekizaki, the interpreter for Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenta Maeda, was born in Saitama, Japan, in 1992, moved to San Rafael, California, in 2000 and graduated from UC Davis in 2014. During his senior year, a Japanese recruiting agency showed up to campus asking the college students what they wanted to do when they graduated.

"Sports," Sekizaki answered.

The Japanese recruiting agency took note of Sekizaki's response, but explained to him that working in sports is a niche industry without many openings available, so it would be a long shot for him.

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Sekizaki, now 32, graduated from UC Davis and accepted a position as the CEO executive assistant and corporate development assistant at Nippon Shokken U.S.A. in West Sacramento, California. The company was initially founded to import and distribute sauces and seasonings made in Japan throughout the United States, but it has since developed into a manufacturing facility to produce products.

For four months, Sekizaki worked as the liaison for both the Japanese CEO and American employees, also assisting human relations with the hiring processes.

He translated documents, meetings and interviews.

One phone call changed everything.

Remember the recruiting agency? Someone from the agency called Sekizaki to ask if he wanted to apply for a job helping a Japanese athlete in Texas. The athlete needing assistance turned out to be Texas Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish, considered the best Japanese pitcher in baseball history.

"The recruiting agency didn't disclose who it was, but I kind of knew it was him," Sekizaki said. "I was like, 'I have to take this chance.' Whether it pans out or not, you don't really encounter chances like this in life. If it was Yu or not, I would have still chosen that path."

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Darvish, a five-time All-Star and 12-year MLB veteran who now pitches for the San Diego Padres, is the third-best player from Japan in MLB history, trailing only Ichiro Suzuki and Shohei Ohtani.

There were multiple interviews as part of the hiring process.

Sekizaki was hired as Darvish's personal assistant in December 2014.

"I only knew him as a superstar on the TV," Sekizaki said. "I still remember to this day how nervous I was meeting him for the first time, but he was very welcoming, and I learned a lot from him. To this day, I consider him my mentor in life in general because he's accomplished so many things."

For the next three years, Sekizaki assisted Darvish with his life in the United States, including housing, transportation, finance and other needs. He wasn't his team interpreter for baseball-related activities, but in all aspects of his personal life, he translated English to Japanese, and vice versa, so Darvish could communicate.

The Rangers traded Darvish to the Los Angeles Dodgers in late July 2017, and as a result of the trade, Sekizaki helped Darvish transition his personal life from Texas to Los Angeles for the final two months of the season, plus another month for a deep postseason run.

"I spent a couple of months in Los Angeles, as well," Sekizaki said.

That's when Sekizaki met Maeda for the first time. They didn't know each other personally, but they always greeted each other when crossing paths in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium. Maeda, a fellow Japanese pitcher, signed with the Dodgers in January 2016, roughly 19 months before the Darvish trade.

Sekizaki took over as the team interpreter for Darvish in February 2018, when Darvish signed with the Chicago Cubs. It was the first time Sekizaki worked for an MLB team.

He then spent the 2019 season at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in the minor leagues as the team interpreter for submarine reliever Kazuhisa Makita in the Padres' organization.

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In January 2020, Maeda picked Sekizaki as his team interpreter with the Dodgers.

"I was available," Sekizaki said, "and he knew me."

Two months later, the Dodgers traded Maeda to the Minnesota Twins less than a week before the spring training report date. The trade happened on the day Sekizaki was supposed to sign a lease for his apartment in Los Angeles.

He never signed the lease.

"Next thing you know, we're on a flight to Fort Myers," Sekizaki said, referencing the Twins' spring training complex in Fort Myers, Florida. "I'm so used to spring training in Arizona, even through the days I helped out Darvish in Surprise with the Rangers, and then Mesa with the Cubs, and then Peoria with the Padres. All of a sudden, I'm in Florida. I had never spent a spring in Florida."

Sekizaki and Maeda have worked together for five seasons.

"Too long," Maeda said, joking.

"First things first, no matter what I say, Dai will just interpret it his way, so it doesn't really matter what I say," Maeda, still joking, continued in Japanese, with Sekizaki interpreting. "If I say bad things about Dai, he'll translate it saying, 'Dai is the best.'"

They both burst out laughing during that exchange.

"Dai is someone I need to communicate with others and to address the media," Maeda said, no longer joking. "It's still very difficult for me to speak, but I understand a lot."

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The partnership brought Sekizaki — and his family — to Detroit for the 2024 season because Maeda signed a two-year, $24 million contract with the Tigers, paying him $14 million in 2024 and $10 million in 2025. Maeda became the first established Japanese pitcher to sign with the Tigers since Hideo Nomo in 2000.

Aside from Sekizaki, Maeda also employs Yuhei Matsumoto as his personal massage therapist.

Matsumoto was born in Kangawa, Japan, in 1995. He used to work for the same facility in Japan that Maeda trained at during the offseason, which is how they connected. Matsumoto, nicknamed "God's hands" by fellow players, has worked for Maeda in three seasons, including the past two seasons.

"Yuhei is a special individual in that locker room over there," said reliever Tyler Duffey, a 10-year MLB veteran who was teammates with Maeda from 2020-22 in Minnesota. "He's incredible. God's hands, it's real."

As Maeda's interpreter, Sekizaki takes mound visits during games with Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter and assists during pregame and postgame interviews with reporters. He also plays catch with Maeda as part of his pregame routine.

It's been nearly nine years since Maeda came to the United States from Japan.

Maeda couldn't do anything without an interpreter in the early years of his MLB career, but after nearly a decade in the United States, he feels comfortable ordering Uber rides, shopping at malls and eating at restaurants by himself.

Still, Sekizaki is essential for Maeda to communicate beyond the basics.

It's a relationship built on trust.

"I've seen his ups and downs," Sekizaki said. "Being a part of someone like that for his down year and his up year, just being a small part of it, I would have never guessed back in college that I would be doing this. I'm super grateful to have the people around me helping me out every year, every day. I could never do this by myself."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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