◆ Pacific League Softbank 1-3 Seibu (14th, Mizuho PayPay)
He couldn't closer but smile as the feeling lingered in his hands. "That went." With two outs in the first inning, Seibu 's second-round draft pick, outfielder Seiya Watanabe (22), scooped up Otsu's first pitch, a 143 km/h fastball low and inside, and the ball drew a beautiful parabola and flew into the front row of the left field stands. It was his long-awaited first professional home run, coming in his 27th professional game and 108th at-bat. "Honestly, I've been wanting to hit one for a while now. It felt really good, and it felt great." He circled the diamond, occasionally flashing his white teeth as if he was chewing on the ball.
In order to play an active role in the professional world, he has set several goals and has been moving forward. "Being a member of the first team at the opening game, being a starter at the opening starting line-up, being Rookie of the Year...". One of them is "not to attend the graduation ceremony of the university". The graduation ceremony of his alma mater, Osaka University of Commerce, is on March 25th, three days before the start of the season. If he was decided to be in the first team at the opening game, he knew that it would be an important practice day. "I told him from the beginning that I probably wouldn't attend. In my position, I'm focused on this now. I'll do my best not to attend." It is a once-in-a-lifetime event that concludes his student life. "(A classmate) contacted me and said, 'Did you know there was a graduation ceremony today?' and I replied, 'I knew it' (laughs). He also sent me a group photo, so I pressed 'like'." He made up his mind and moved forward with a strong resolve as soon as he entered the professional world.
Although a rookie, he appeared in 17 consecutive games starting line-up at "No. 3, left field" and played a part in the cleanup lineup. hit in his third at bat with two outs in the fifth inning, he hit a shot to right field to set up the second run. runner in his fourth at bat with no outs in the seventh inning, he grounded out to third base but was brought back alive by a groundout. He was involved in all three of the team's runs scored, and his batting average rose to .333. He was out for a period of time with a sprained right ankle, so he reached the regulation batting average on this day, which ranks him a respectable second in the league. He is now ranked second in the league. "I am not evaluated by the number of at bats I have now. The rookie, who is poised to take the lead, will put the Seibu batting line on the upswing. （He is a rookie with a solid attitude and says, "I won't be evaluated based on my current batting average.)
Related News
・ With the cheering song of Kazuhiro Kiyohara as the starting point, Seibu scores 10 points, the most this season, from the second-round pick player! A big difference from last year, when they finished 3rd by 1 point and last by 12 points.
・ [Seibu] Audrey's Toshiaki Kasuga appears at the ceremonial pitch. Does he look like catcher? 2nd draft pick rookie Satoshi Watanabe
・ [Seibu] Second-round draft Seiya Watanabe hit a timely hit in the sixth inning, bringing his 12th multi-hit RBI to 10.
・ Seibu second draft pick: "Wow, the best," says manager Nishiguchi, who thinks the batting average in scoring position of .533 is "reliable."
・ [Seibu] Seiya Watanabe has hit multiple times in five consecutive games, the first time in 44 years that a rookie has done so. "I want to be able to hit when I'm asked to."
