"I was able to hit the ball the way I wanted to," says Rakuten 's Hideto Asamura, who is the third Osaka Toin alumnus to hit his 300th home run, 16 hit away from reaching 2,000.

Sports Hochi

2025.4.23(水) 06:00

◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 2-4 Rakuten (22nd, Escon F)

The memorable one came from an ideal swing. count With no outs in the 8th inning, Hideto Asamura infielder (34) hit Sugiura's 151 km/h straight ball from 1-2 on the outside corner for his 300th career solo shot to the right field bleachers. The first time I saw the game, I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to get a chance to play for the first time in my life," he said. Franco, the next hitter player to reach the 300th plate appearance, also hit a series of shots to left field, and the team celebrated the milestone with an avec win of hits by No. 3 and No. 4 players.

He is determined to keep going with his bat. This season, he was converted from third base to first base. Since his time with Seibu, he has long played second position, but he accepted the offer from manager Miki, who asked him to "concentrate on batting." Last season, he had a batting average of .253 and hit only 14 Home Run, the fewest since his transfer. He is now in his 17th year with the determination to "aim for his career high again."

During his personal training, he increased his running menu and focused on keeping his body sharp. During camp, he practiced hitting every day at lunch. While sticking to his natural full swing, he pursued the ideal feeling by trial and error with bats of different lengths and weights, saying, "I want to hit with the feeling that the head (of the bat) comes out at the end." The memorial shot in the opposite direction, reminiscent of his heyday, was proof of his revival.

In the seventh inning, while on defense, he made contact with Fujii while chasing a fly ball. It was a close call, but he continued to play and it was a home run. He was sent to pinch hitter in the ninth inning as a precaution, but he said, "I won't let something like this stop me," and his strong body is also a great weapon, as he has played 1,326 consecutive games, the fourth-highest in NPB history. The manager also praised his achievement, saying, "He is more serious about baseball than anyone else and works hard. I respect him." His next goal is to reach 2,000 hit, with just 16 left. Aiming to become the first player born in the Heisei era to achieve this feat, he coolly said, "I'll start thinking about it a little more when I get to single digits." Just like with Home Run, a great record awaits if you keep hitting each hit one by one. (Ariyoshi Hiroki)

◆Asamura Hideto Born November 12, 1990 in Osaka Prefecture. 34 years old. Joined Seibu as the third draft pick in 2008 from Osaka Toin High School. Transferred to Rakuten as a free agent in 2019. Won Home Run title twice, RBI title twice, Best Nine once as first baseman and seven times as a second second baseman for a total of eight years, and the Golden Glove Award once each at first base and second base. 182 cm, 90 kg. Right-handed batter and thrower. Annual salary this season is 500 million yen (estimated amount).

Record Memo ▼ ... Rakuten 's Hideto Asamura infielder (34) hit his 3rd solo shot over the right field wall from Sugiura in the 8th inning of the 4th inning (ESCON) against Nippon-Ham on the 22nd, bringing his total to 300 Home Run. He is the 47th professional baseball player to reach this milestone. He reached the milestone in 1968 games, second to Takahiro Arai (Hiroshima), who reached the milestone in 2179 games.

▼…He is the third Osaka Toin alumnus to reach 300 home runs, following Takeya Nakamura (West) with 479 and Sho Nakata (Central) with 309. By school, he is the most successful, beating out two PL Gakuen alumni (Kazuhiro Kiyohara with 525 and Eiji Kato with 347).