◆Mynavi All-Star Game 2026: Pacific League 7-8 Central League (June 29, Toyama)

5. In a game where “Home Run” chants rang out, the All-Central team held on to a one-run lead to secure a win victory. In his ninth All-Star Game appearance—and his first as a player selected via the “Plus One” vote—the All-Pacific team’s Softbank Hawks, Yuki Yanagita, and outfielder took the field as the “No. 5 batter and designated hitter.” He hit a three-run homer in the third inning to briefly put his team ahead and went on to win the Mynavi Dream Award and the Fighting Spirit Award.

The star was, as expected, a star. In the third inning, with two outs and runners on first and second, trailing by two runs, he swung hard at the first pitch from Hiroshima's Endo, leaning back as he went. "There was a wind blowing in left field, so I wanted to hit it that way," he said, and his swing landed exactly where he intended, sending the ball into the left field stands. It was a three-run homer that temporarily gave his team the lead. "It felt great," he said with a refreshing smile.

This was his ninth All-Star Game appearance (he declined to participate in 2019 and 2024), and his first time participating through the Plus One vote. As the oldest player in the Pacific League, he had declared, "I'd like to win an award if possible. I'm going to get my cancellation fees back," after his planned family trip was canceled. In addition to winning two awards, he savored the thunderous cheers from baseball fans in Toyama, saying, "It's priceless."

This was his first time playing at the stadium since the Fresh All-Star Game in his first year. Running on the Toyama ground for the first time in 15 years, he said, "I'm grateful that I can still baseball."

Sakamoto and Ohno, both from the same graduating class and selected for the All-Central League, greatly enlivened the first game by being entrusted with batting order and pitching rotation. The 1988 generation still shines brightly in the baseball world. This man, too, showed his theatrical talent with a single swing.