“He’s one of the talented pitchers”
At this point, the hottest concern in Japanese professional baseball is who will knock on the door of the Major League after the 2024 season schedule is over. First of all, Tomoyuki Sugano (Yomiuri Giants), who was once famous as manager Tatsunori Hara’s maternal nephew and a “Ace” pitcher representing Japan, expressed his intention to challenge the big leagues this winter. Amid this situation, attention is also bound to be paid to the future of Roki Sasaki (Chiba Lotte Marines).
Sasaki, who made his name worldwide when he achieved the “Perfect Game” in 2022, helped the Japanese national team win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2023, proving that his high evaluation and achievement of his feat were by no means a coincidence. However, Sasaki’s image was seriously damaged last winter. This is why he had a lot of friction with the club in the process of expressing his intention to advance to the Major League.
After the end of the 2023 season, Sasaki expressed her intention to play in the big league during the annual salary negotiation process. Chiba Lotte could not afford to allow Sasaki to challenge the team at a time when the transfer fee is not large due to the nature of international amateur contracts, including failing to provide significant support to the team’s performance so far. As a result, Sasaki faced a flurry of criticism as it was revealed that he did not sign his salary contract for the 2024 season until just before the departure of the spring camp.
In conclusion, Sasaki failed to challenge herself to the Major League. Instead, she set this year’s goal as “full-time.” She wanted to prove her performance and health and confidently challenge herself. However, she failed to prove her health in the end. She had a hiatus of more than two months due to various reasons this year. If she had any comfort, she allowed just one run (one earned run) during nine innings, including 10 strikeouts against the Rakuten Golden Eagles on January 1, and secured her first 10 wins since her debut. 메이저사이트
Officials from 10 major league teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, visited Rakuten Mobile Park to watch Sasaki’s pitching and showed their first complete victory since the 2022 perfect game. According to Japan’s Daily Sports, Dodgers President Andrew Friedman said, “Sasaki is a great and talented pitcher. I have seen many talented pitchers based on my experience visiting Japan many times.” Sasaki is a talented player who has come to the U.S. in the past.
Based on Sasaki’s good pitching, Chiba Lotte has confirmed its third place in the Pacific League and has a ticket to the Climax Series. If Sasaki performs tremendously in the postseason and puts Chiba Lotte at the top of the Japanese series, it is likely that Sasaki’s advance to the Major League this winter will also gain momentum. This can be seen by the fact that 10 clubs, including the Dodgers, New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, visited on the 1st alone, the last day of the regular season.
In the meantime, Francis Romero of the National Baseball Journalists Association (BBWAA) predicted Sasaki’s chances of entering the big league. Romero said on the 6th, “Sasaki’s future will be known after the Chiba Lotte Marines’ playoff. Top officials from the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks were in Japan last September. And Dodgers President Andrew Friedman was just last week,” but added, “Many major league teams do not expect Sasaki to be posted this year.”
Sasaki pitched the best in front of high-ranking officials of each club. However, with Chiba Lotte unable to enter the Major League without his permission, much attention is already paid to what Sasaki’s future will look like after the end of this season’s schedule.
