Nippon-Ham pitcher Kota Yazawa renewed his contract at ESCON on the 26th, signing for 26 million yen (estimated amount), an increase of 8.5 million yen.
This season he focused on playing in fielder, appearing in 86 games with a batting average of .247, one Home Run, 18 RBI and 11 stolen base. In June his batting average briefly dropped below .200, but he revealed his interactions with manager Shinjo, saying, "This year there was a period when my boss told me to give up on long hits for a bit and focus on getting on base and raising my batting average. Thanks to that, my batting average, which was initially 10%, rose to about .250, and once that happened he told me to stop using a 'batting style that gets results' and just aim for long hits. I would like to continue to value long hits next season."
After the fan festival, the baseball coach said, "In the future, if Yazawa-kun can hit close to .300 with his physical ability at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, (number) it would be interesting to be the No. 1 player. In response, Yazawa said enthusiastically, "I saw (the news report), and I'd like to hit .300 and get number 1.
For the time being, he is committed to fielder for the two-faced game. However, he maintains his pitcher registration and says, "The team has told me that they would like to keep my pitcher registration. First, I will become a regular outfielder player, and then when I can afford to do so, I will be able to pitcher as well. outfielder I've been told that I can join bullpen on my own, as long as it doesn't have a negative impact on me as a pitcher player," he said.
As fielder, his speed is his weapon. "I definitely want to stolen base, and although Ichibata-san is here, I want to be the player on the team who can stolen base the most bases. I want to stolen base bases," he said, sharing his specific goals.
Related News
・ [Nippon-Ham] Ren Fukushima renews his contract for an additional 13 million yen for next season, "becoming a player who can contribute to winning the league championship and becoming the best team in Japan"
・ [Nippon-Ham] Yuya Shindo renews his contract for 12 million yen, an increase of 1 million yen. "I want to pursue long hits" as catcher hit.
・ [Nippon-Ham] Yazawa Kota responds to his first cleanup appearance of the season with a two-run triple."
・ Nippon-Ham 's Shun Mizutani will be promoted to the first team for the game against Orix on the 18th.
・ [Hanshin Tigers] Ryuhei Obata renews his contract with an increase of 15 million yen. He says he is "not satisfied" with his career-high 89 games played.
