Rintaro Sasaki's decision to play college baseball in the United States caught everyone off guard. He was guaranteed to become the overall number-one pick in the NPB draft. From Iwata prefecture in Japan, Rintaro Sasaki graduated from the same high school, Hamanaki Higashi, as Yusei Kikuchi and Shohei Ohtani. Rintaro's father was Shohei Ohtani's and Yusei Kikuchi's coach. It is only fitting that his son would become a great baseball player in the same league as Shohei and Yusei.
Sasaki's high school career caught the eyes of many baseball scouts, so much so that he was projected to be the number 1 pick in the NPB draft, boasting 140 home runs in his career which shattered all records, surpassing greats like Shohei Ohtani himself. To understand how incredible this is, we must make a comparison to high school baseball in the United States. For an athlete to hit 140 home runs in his high school career, he has to hit 35 home runs every year for four years. 20 home run seasons are rare. Only a handful can claim they did so. Doing this in Japan's competitive high school ranks is even harder. No one has hit more home runs than Sasaki in Japanese high school history. You could say that he has reached legendary status. That is no exaggeration, although some of the 140 home runs attributed to him include those he hit in practice games. Nonetheless, he holds the record for most home runs for a high school student.
Yusei Kikuchi of the Toronto Blue Jays considers Rintaro as his not-so-little little brother. He grew up watching him and Ohtani play. Perhaps that is where he got his work ethic from. That, and, of course, his father, Hiroshi Sasaki. He even said that he heard about the “need to make a plan” and that there was no way it was not going to be ingrained in his thoughts. This reminds me of Shohei Ohtani in the Disney+ special called Shohei Ohtani: Beyond the Dream when he shared his plans for his baseball career. It is not hard to imagine that perhaps Rintaro has something similar.
In his debut for the Trenton Thunder of the MLB draft league, he hit a dinger to right field, probably to make a point and show everyone he belongs. When you look at him, you can just tell that this kid is built for power. At 6 feet tall, and 230 pounds, he is a big kid. Nicknamed the Japanese Prince Fielder, Sasaki instills fear in pitchers. He plays for both Stanford and Trenton. The best way to differentiate is to think Stanford is his university duties and Trenton is his draft league duties. The Trenton Thunder are part of the MLB draft league affiliated with Major League Baseball. This is a good thing because it allows college baseball and MLB hopefuls to showcase their skills in front of scouts.
We will not be seeing Rintaro in the majors until he graduates from college. Until then, we can follow his career at Stanford and in the MLB draft league.
No comments:
Post a Comment