Softbank Hawks Hawks Chief Building Officer Kenji Johjima spoke to reporters on the 1st after meeting and having dinner with infielder Rintaro Sasaki (Stanford University), the team's first-round draft pick last fall, in Fukuoka City. He also revealed that he had met with Sasaki's father, Hiroshi, on June 15th. Johjima stated that he had explained the team's development plan to Hiroshi, and said, "I think that will give the family some good thought."

During the interview, the conversation touched upon aspects of his son that only a father would know intimately. "We talked about Rintaro's upbringing, what his hobbies are, and so on," said Jojima, the CBO. "Unfortunately, he said he doesn't fish, so if he has a connection to Fukuoka, I'm thinking of teaching him how to fish from scratch." As a professional-level angler himself, he was also looking forward to giving Rintaro fishing lessons after he joins the team.

On this day, Sasaki visited Mizuho PayPay Dome. Before touring the stadium facilities, he had dinner with CBO Jojima at a Chinese restaurant. He watched a Seibu Lions game at the home stadium that day and will tour the team facilities again on the 2nd.