"Debut announcement in Tokyo" Sasaki "Debut at 23 years and 136 days, the third youngest ever among Japanese starters."

"Debut announcement in Tokyo" Sasaki "Debut at 23 years and 136 days, the third youngest ever among Japanese starters."

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Loki Sasaki (24, LA Dodgers), who heated up the entire nation this winter, will make his MLB debut in Tokyo, Japan, as expected.

Manager Dave Roberts announced on the 12th (Korea time) that "Sasaki will start the second game of the Tokyo Series in Japan." It is a combination of players and stages that can draw attention from the global baseball community. Sasaki, who played in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) since his debut in 2020, until last year, signed with the Dodgers through a posting system (closed competitive bidding) this winter.
Although he is a promising player, his attention to him was more than Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers), who signed a 12-year, $325 million contract. Spraying up to 165km/h fastballs in the NPB, he also had a large splitter that was hard to find in MLB. Twenty clubs coveted him, but his options were Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers with Yamamoto.

Sasaki's exhibition game debut was somewhat delayed, but he left a strong impression as expected. Sasaki pitched seven scoreless innings in two games until the exhibition game against the Cleveland Guardians on the 12th. After taking the mound, he was also confirmed to play in the Tokyo Series. 메이저사이트

"I'm happy to make my big league debut before I throw to Japan," Sasaki said. "I'm very excited as I'm here to play in the MLB. It feels special to be able to make my debut in Tokyo again. It's rare. I'm also glad that I can play without injury so far."

Earlier, the Dodgers announced Yamamoto in Game 1 when they will meet Shota Imana of the Chicago Cubs, the first showdown in MLB history between Japanese starting pitchers. Add to this Sasaki. With this, the Dodgers will move to Tokyo with only Japanese pitchers as a one-two punch. Japanese fans in Japan will be able to watch their pitchers' good pitching no matter what game they reserve.

Of course, this is also the first time for a Japanese pitcher to be a starting pitcher in both the first and second rounds of this season. "Imanaga will also play for the Cubs. Three Japanese pitchers will be selected from both teams," said Japan Sports Hochi.

Sasaki has suffered from NPB, but she is still young. Born in 2001, Sasaki is only one year older than Paul Skinns (Pittsburgh Pirates), who won the Rookie of the Year award in the National League last year. Considering that Skinns graduated from the Minor League at "glow speed," Sasaki is also similar to an ordinary college graduate.

He is still young compared to Japanese pitchers in history. "Sasaki will be 23 years and 136 days old on April 19. He is the third youngest Japanese pitcher to ever play for an NPB," said Sarah Reims of the MLB Dotcom. The only Japanese pitchers younger than Sasaki were Masanori Murakami (debuted on September 1, 1964, at the age of 20 years and 118 days) and Oka Tomo (debuted on July 19, 1999, at 23 years and 123 days).