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Like Totally, Pitcher Perfect Chatsworth ace Trevor Takeyama, prepares for two possible futures in medicine and baseball.
It is officially summer. If you don’t believe that fact, travel down to the San Fernando Valley and the triple digits will persuade. While in the valley, like totally check out Musashi Restaurant. The reason? There you might have the pleasure of being served by a one Trevor Takeyama. Okay, who’s that? Well, if you’re not familiar with Chatsworth High School, then you probably have never heard of him. In one line of thinking, he’s the guy who might one day be who you go to when you feel sick and need medicine. Attending UC Irvine this coming fall, Takeyama is planning on majoring in biological science, preparing him for a life of pre-med. In another line of thinking, one that seems very tangible after his senior year of high school, he might possibly be the next Greg Maddux. See, Chatsworth High School is known for their baseball. They won back-to-back National titles in 2003 and 2004. Just last year, they produced two first round draft picks in the Major League Baseball draft. This year? The Chatsworth Chancellors won the Los Angeles City Section Championship—a game where they made a record sixth consecutive appearance. That server at Musashi, well, this season, he was at the helm of the Chatsworth pitching staff. Led the team with a 14-1 record. “It was a really great year,” Takeyama told The Rafu Shimpo. “Pretty surprising for me. I’m still in shock about it.” It wasn’t just this year that has been great either. Over his two varsity seasons, Takeyama has gone 18-2. That’s a .900 career winning percentage. When asked about his success, the soft-spoken and amiable youngest of three was quick to deflect his success to his teammates. “I knew that I had a good team behind me so all I needed to do was throw strikes, put it in the strikezone. My defense had my back all season. They were making plays. I also got a lot of run support.” Don’t let the modesty fool you. Sporting a sub 1.50 ERA (earned run average) meant the offense only had to score 2 runs whenever he pitched. “Every time he took the baseball, we knew what we were getting,” said Tom Muesborn, head coach of the Chancellors. “He was ready to compete and give his best effort that day. It showed and carried over to the other guys on the field.” In short, this kid can throw. We’re not talking blazing heat. We’re not talking a wicked 12 to 6 curve. We’re talking about throwing strikes and hitting spots. Movement, location, and mental fortitude. Also, don’t let the media guide fool you. Listed at 5-10 but in actuality closer to 5-7, Takeyama is not the prototypical ace of any pitching staff, let alone one of the top baseball programs in the country. Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Takeyama, a yonsei, started playing baseball when he was 5. He played for the Chatsworth Junior Baseball League and as he got older he played for traveling teams, finding a great deal of success at every stop. Baseball was always a part of his life. In the summer of 2004, the decision needed to be made concerning where he would go for high school. “Chatsworth was back-to-back national champion, so that set the bar high,” said Takeyama. “I knew that they had the best program. They were local. I always kept that in mind. “When I decided to go to Chatsworth, I put myself up there and tried to make the team. I tried out, tried my best and made it. From there I’ve just been working hard.” Working hard has been a consistent theme for the senior-no-more who graduated on Thursday. He credits his coaches for their support and guidance, for their hand in his success and the experience that he’s gained from playing under them. “The coaches basically taught us on the field and off the field responsibility,” said Takeyama. “The three rules were: do things the right way; do the right things; and be on time. That kind of helped mold my outside life. I didn’t want to get into trouble. I focused on school. I was with the right people.” “I think what we try to do is put our players in a situation and environment where they can be successful,” said Meusborn who has 19 years experience at Chatsworth and has more championships than any other coach in city history. “I think we did that and he just took advantage of it. It was all him. He worked extremely hard during the year, and did a tremendous job. I mean, he’s worked hard for all four years he’s been here.” That hard work came to its zenith at the end of May in the city national championship game played at Dodgers Stadium. “It was kind of weird,” said Takeyama, a huge Dodgers fan who grew up idolizing Hideo Nomo, “because I was thinking that I was on the same mound as Sandy Koufax and all those big time guys. Same mound. Same distance. I never thought I’d be able to do that when I was younger. It was pretty amazing.” In that game, the final game of his high school career, Takeyama went the distance giving up five hits, striking out seven and walking three against a very good No. 2-seeded Narbonne team. “I never thought that I would be playing there,” Takeyama said. “But during the season, we always had that big goal in mind—to play for a city championship at Dodgers Stadium. We worked hard and we got there.” “His dreams have come true in some ways,” said Trevor’s father Steve Takeyama in a phone conversation with the Rafu. “A culmination of many years of hard work.” Takeyama was quick to credit his parents as well for their role in his success. They attended every game, even those in which he didn’t pitch. They volunteered to help with the snack bar and were key components in fundraising and organizing the team’s end-of-theyear banquet. “My parents have shown a great amount of love and support that I truly appreciate. I don’t know if I’ve shown them,” he said with a laugh, “but I definitely appreciate everything they’ve done for me. I’m sure over the past four years it’s been pretty tough to hang with me.” Steve and Shelley, Trevor’s mother, have a different opinion. “We applaud him for the decisions that he’s making now in his life. We will support him in any way in which he goes.” So, which way will he go? Both outstanding academically and gifted in the art of pitching. The journey of a goal? Or the pursuit of a dream? A future doctor? Or the next Professor? Guess you’ll just have to take that trip out to the valley this summer and, like totally, ask him yourself. |
