Seibu Sowa Yokota infielder (18) of Yamamura Gakuen, the fifth overall pick in the draft by the Saitama High School baseball team, was greeted at his school in Kawagoe City, Saitama, on April 4. Born and raised in Higashimatsuyama City, Saitama, and a member of The Lions Junior when he was in sixth grade, he is a genuine "Saitama kid" who will be making his mark at the ballpark where he used to make his voice heard.
Seibu scout chief Toshiro Maeda and his scout Ken Togame visited the school and gave a speech. Approximately 10 days have passed since the draft meeting. He was presented with an autographed autograph card from Coach Nishiguchi and an admission ticket to the draft venue, and was filled with honest thoughts, saying, "Even when practicing baseball in club activities, I'm always motivated, and I always think carefully about what I need to do to become a professional, so I'm really glad that my dream of becoming a professional has come true."
He will become a member of the team he has always admired. Seibu, his hometown baseball team, is someone he has always followed, going to support them at least once a month as a child. He watched the final home game against Lotte on September 29th (Belluna D) for the first time since entering high school, saying, "I was also aiming to become a professional, so I wanted to see the atmosphere carefully." He expressed his excitement, saying, "It made me want to play on this stage myself."
He has abandoned his dual-role and entered the professional world as infielder. Standing at 180cm and weighing 87kg, he has a sturdy build and hit a total of 21 Home Run in high school. He pitched in four games during this summer's Saitama tournament, batting .462. He has many rivals at Seibu, including Genda, who has won the Golden Glove Award seven times in a row, Takizawa, who has made a huge leap this season, and Saito, who was the first pick in last fall's draft. "I really want to compete at short stop. With players like that around me, it may be difficult to become a regular right away, but I think there will be more opportunities to ask questions, so I'll listen carefully to what I can and absorb as much information as I can so I can make the most of those opportunities," he said enthusiastically.
His hometown, Higashimatsuyama City's Yakyu Inari Shrine, is known as a "baseball shrine." He visited the shrine on the morning of the draft and prayed, "May I be selected." He is the first player from his school to be designated as a regular player. "I hope to stay on the first team from my third year onwards, and become a regular player in five years. I don't think I can hit 200 hit unless I keep playing in games in the future of baseball career, so I want to aim for that as well, by staying injury-free and playing in games," he said.
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