Seibu On March 21, Koji Hiroike, 52, the team's general manager, announced in an online interview that the team will select Taiga Kojima catcher (21) of Meiji University with the first pick in the draft to be held on March 23. The hard-hitting left-handed hitter slugger catcher has a .304 batting average, 7 Home Run and 52 RBI in a total of 67 games at the Tokyo Rokugaku University. This was the first time in two years for a baseball team to announce in advance since Takeuchi of Kokugakuin University in 2011.
He is a talented player that the team is desperate to acquire. Team General Manager Hiroike commented, "His batting is top class. He's good at timing and makes solid contact. He has a high hitting point and a high success rate, so the speed of his batted balls is also appealing." He also played as infielder during his time at Tokai University Sagami, but stated, "His ability as catcher is also good enough to be a professional player. We're acquiring him as catcher."
This season, in Nishiguchi's first year as manager, the team finished in fifth place with 63 wins, 77 losses, and 3 ties. The team's batting average of .232, on-base percentage of .289, and slugging percentage of .328 were all last in the league, so improving their batting ability was an urgent priority. As catcher, Yu Koga played in the most games, 112, but his batting average of .228 was somewhat disappointing, so he was not regularly used.
The announcement at this stage shows sincerity, with the opinion of the team now solidified, and "we put our hearts into it." The person who will draw the lots in case of a competition has not yet been decided, but I believe that we are connected by fate. (Oonaka Ayami)
▼ L University students catcher No. 1 pick in 24 years Seibu announced the No. 1 pick by Meiji University catcher ・Taika Kojima. Including the previous team, there were 7 players catcher who Seibu were picked first (highest) until Tomoya Mori (Osaka Toin High School) in '13. The breakdown is five high school students and two college students: Taisei Takagi (Kei Univ.), the No. 1 pick in 1995, and Toru Hosokawa (Aomori Univ.), a free-agent pick in 2001. If Kojima is ranked No. 1, it will be the first time in 24 years that a baseball team has been ranked No. 1 catcher by a college student.
◆Kojima Taiga Born October 27, 2003 in Isehara City, Kanagawa Prefecture. 21 years old. Started playing baseball in the Takabeya Junior baseball Club in his first year at Takabeya Elementary School, and selected for The BayStars Junior team in sixth grade. At Sannoh Junior High School, he played in the national tournament with the Sagami Boys. At Tokai University Sagami, he was on the bench as infielder from the fall of his first year. From the fall of his second year, he became a regular second baseman. In the winter of his second year, he switched catcher, and won the Spring Koshien Tournament in the spring of his third year. At Meiji University, he played for the Japan University National Team in his third and fourth years. He is 179 cm tall and weighs 83 kg. He throws right and bats left. He can throw a distance of 120 meters.
Related News
・ [Seibu] Announced that Meiji University's Taiga Kojima would be selected as the first pick at the draft meeting on the 23rd
・ "No. 1 University Student of the Year" Soka University's Masahiro Tateishi is highly praised by scouts for sparking a comeback in the final regular season before the draft.
・ [Seibu] Shinya Hasegawa, Taishi Mameda, and Mikato Aoyama will be sent to the Puerto Rico Winter League. Hasegawa said, "We want to take on the challenge with a hungry spirit."
・ [Seibu] J.D. Davis joins the team in a press conference, saying, "I want to contribute to the team's winning streak." His relationship with former teammate Nevin was also a deciding factor in his decision to join the team.
・ [Seibu] Seiya Watanabe is the only rookie to start in the first team at camp. "I want to communicate with various people and use that to improve myself."
