Softbank Hawks Hawks outfielder Yoshiyasu Sasakawa participated in a joint voluntary training session with Yanagida and others in Saiki City, Oita Prefecture on the 19th, for the second consecutive year, and pledged to stay with the first team for the entire year.

The 23-year-old power hitter, dubbed "the second coming of Gīta," joined the team in 2020 as the second overall pick in the draft from Yokohama Commercial High School, and this is his sixth year with the team. In the 2025 season, he played in a career-high 26 games, batting .213 with 1 Home Run and 8 RBI. "I think it's amazing that Yanagita, the oldest player on the team, does weight training and practice at his age, and I feel like I can't fall behind. I've increased the amount of muscle training I do, and I'm doing it more frequently than ever before," he said, showing his motivation to power up, inspired by his 37-year-old mentor.

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."