Nippon-Ham of Yuki Umebayashi catcher renewed his contract at Escondido on March 25. He signed with an increased offer.
He has only played in two games for the first team this season. "With Tamiya and Gunji who played this year, I feel like my position has really changed over the past three years. I felt very frustrated," he said, vowing to bounce back next season.
In January of this year, he had a three-day joint practice session with Dodgers pitcher Betts in Tokyo. Since then, they have continued to communicate once or twice a month using the app. "Betts told me about the drills and ways of thinking that he holds dear, and I just listened at the time, but after practicing for a year, I gradually realized that there were many things that I should have done differently. When I began to understand that, I thought that I might be able to make the moves little by little, so I really think that those three days were invaluable," he recalled.
He hopes to take part in joint training again this offseason and is preparing to go to the U.S. "If the timing is right, I'm ready to go at any time, so I hope to be able to go. Even if they said it would only be for about three hours, I've always thought about going, so I want to stay as long as I can. Of course, there are some things that you have to be careful about when communicating in writing, so I think it would be best if we could meet and talk in person," he said, expressing his desire for a reunion.
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