オリックス・広岡大志内野手が２０日、米大リーグのブルージェイズに入団することが決まった前巨人・岡本和真内野手にエールを送った。智弁学園時代の１学年先輩で、岡本が３年生、広岡が２年生だった１４年には春夏連続で甲子園に出場。２１年からは２年半、巨人でともにプレーした同じ右打者へ「メジャー（移籍）が決まってよかった。プロへ入ったとき、岡本さんが活躍しなければ（自分も）絶対無理だと思った。絶対、メジャーでそういう成績を出してくれると思います」とコメントを寄せた。
「やっぱり打者でいくわけなので…。どうなるのか、すごく楽しみたい。メジャーはすごく重視していると、岡本さんと話したことがある」と注目点に挙げたのが、広岡自身も大切にするＯＰＳ（出塁率＋長打率）だ。巨人時代の岡本は、規定打席をクリアした１８〜２４年の７年間で、一流打者の証しとされる８割を一度も下回ったことがない。２３年にはリーグ最高の９割５分８厘を記録。「（メジャーでも）それ（８割）は超えると思います。めっちゃ（ひいき目で）見る」と笑みを浮かべた。
On this day, he opened up his training session to the public in Okinawa Prefecture with The Giants pitcher Sakamoto. "Not just in terms of batting, but also in terms defense and his way of thinking. There's still so much I want to see," he said, sharing a rich time with his former The Giants teammate. Now in his 11th year as a pro, he is trying to establish himself as a regular after 25 years in which he took his first required number of at-bats. He uses stimulation as his strength and plays a central role in the Olympus.
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