pitcher Kenta Maeda, who joined Rakuten Eagles Golden Eagles, opened his voluntary training session to the public in Okinawa Prefecture on the 10th. He warmed up by catch and sprinting. The experienced right-hander, who returned to Japanese baseball after an 11-year absence, spoke of his feelings, saying, "I'm excited to be playing for a new team and in Japan for the first time in a while. I'm approaching this voluntary training session with a fresher feeling than usual, so I'm practicing with great excitement."
He envisions the '88 generation working together. "We've all been working hard, hoping to liven up the baseball world through friendly competition. As the generational change progresses and our numbers are gradually decreasing, all the remaining members are talking about working hard together. Rather than being rivals, we now have a stronger sense of camaraderie, so rather than trying to outperform or win, we want to all work hard together. As we've gradually gotten older, we've gotten rid of the thorns, so with that in mind, I want us all to work hard until the end," he said emphatically.
He has had many memorable matches with The Giants Sakamoto, who is also from the 1988 generation, since their youth. "We both made our debuts when we were around 19 years old, and we played against each other many times before I went to the majors. I would love to face him again here," he said excitedly. In addition to Sakamoto, other members of the golden generation are also struggling in the Japanese baseball world. "There are players like Gitta (Yanagi) and Akiyama, and in terms of pitcher, there are pitcher like (Tanaka) Masahiro and (Ono) Yudai who I could potentially pitch against, so I would like to enjoy playing against them as well," he said excitedly.
The right-handed pitcher, who has a total of 165 wins in Japan and the U.S., is expected to be a key player in the starting rotation. "I believe that the only thing I can do is produce results, so I want to pitch a lot for the team and win a lot. I want to contribute as much as I can to becoming the best in Japan," he said with determination.
◆Current 88 generation: Those born between April 2, 1988 and April 1, 1989
Current Japanese players in the NPB
Ken Maeda (Rakuten Eagles)
Sakamoto, Masahiro Tanaka (The Giants)
Ohno (Chunichi)
Yanagita (Softbank Hawks)
Akiyama, Aizawa (Hiroshima)
Miyazaki (DeNA)
Ishiyama (Yakult)
Sawamura, who left Lotte at the end of last season, will retire. Ayumu Ishikawa, who also left Lotte, will continue playing in the Dutch league.
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