On the 19th, Softbank Hawks outfielder Yoshiyasu Sasakawa participated in a joint voluntary training session with Yanagita and others in Saiki City, Oita Prefecture, for the second year in a row, and vowed to accompany the first team for a year.
Nicknamed "Gita II," the 23-year-old romantic gun joined the team as the second pick in the 2020 draft from Yokohama Commercial High School, and this is his sixth year. In the 2013 season, he played in a career-high 26 games, batting .213 with one Home Run and eight RBI. "I think it's amazing that Yanagida, the oldest player, is able to do things like weight training and the amount of practice he does at his age, and I feel like I can't let him beat me. I'm increasing the amount of muscle training I do, and I'm doing it more frequently than ever before," he said, inspired by his 37-year-old mentor as he works hard to improve his strength.
Although he is the oldest man this year, he was cold and said, "Is it good to be the oldest man? Is it bad? I'm not really interested." He was enthusiastic, saying, "First of all, I want to join the first team for a year and get more opportunities to play."
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