On the 11th, Nippon-Ham infielder Yamagata (23) vowed to repay the favor of infielder Kazunari Ishii 31), who transferred to Seibu Lions as a free agent, through his play. Ishii, who was eight years his senior at Waseda University, helped him both professionally and personally last season. "I was happy to have been able to play second base with him. When I was playing short stop, I felt incredibly reassured by second baseman Pin (Ishii). I was really happy when he would follow up on my mistakes," he said in a statement of his gratitude.
When Ishii's transfer was decided, Yamagata expressed his gratitude in a long message on LINE, saying, "First of all, I'm glad that Pin (Ishii) is with The Fighters. Please invite me to dinner anytime. Please don't hit the ball when I'm playing." He revealed that Ishii replied, "There won't be any short stop to short, so you can just sit there and do nothing," and said, "Next, I want to become the kind of player that other players say, 'I want to play second base and shortstop with Yamagata.'" He is following in the footsteps of his respected senior.
During the offseason, he is currently training alone at the second-division facility in Kamagaya, Chiba, with the theme of improving the power of his throw. He cited a play in last season's interleague game in which Yakult 's Namiki's hit to the shortstop/third baseman resulted in an infield hit, and reflected, "I threw at the right timing for an out and it was safe. My shoulder strength was insufficient." He is currently focusing on catch over a 50-meter distance to improve his power.
This season, he is expected to become a regular at shortstop. "I practiced all the time, even over the New Year holidays. I felt a sense of urgency, like I had to keep doing it," he said. The highly ambitious 23-year-old is showing further growth in his second year.
(Haruki Kawakami)
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