Sasaki Rocky (23), the present and future of Japanese baseball who threw a fiery fastball of up to 165 kilometers per hour and achieved a perfect game with 19 strikeouts, is definitely an injury.
“Sasaki, who was excluded from the second list of the season due to poor condition of his right upper limb on the 13th, will not return until the match against Softbank on the 23rd,” Japanese sports media Tokyo Sports said on the 20th. “His return is expected to be delayed further.”
Sasaki made his debut in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in 2021, and only pitched 343 ⅓ in 55 games during the four seasons up to this season. He has displayed outstanding pitching performance with 24 wins and 12 losses and an ERA of 1.99.
His main weapon is folk balls, which have shot up to 165 kilometers per hour and are so dreadful that they are called “ghost folk.” Based on this, he recorded 446 strikeouts and 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings, boasting his overwhelming performance. He also garnered great attention by achieving the perfect game. 토토사이트 추천
Seeing Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who both led Japan to win the World Baseball Classic last year, Sasaki is also dreaming of entering the big leagues. During the off-season, he expressed his desire to enter the Major League through a posting system to his club, sparking controversy.
Although he remained at Chiba Lotte, it is only a matter of time before Sasaki goes to the U.S.A. A lot of attention has already been paid to him since the WBC, and when Sasaki takes the mound, it has become a daily routine for big league scouts to visit the stadium.
The problem is his injury. Is it difficult for him to handle it, given his monstrous ability? To Sasaki, the injury was inseparable. Sasaki had already been diagnosed with back fatigue fracture when he was a ninth grader, and took almost a year off, but for the past two years, he played only 35 games except for the first season. The average number of innings he plays per year is just over 100 innings.
He has pitched well with three wins, two losses and an ERA of 2.27 in 11 games this season, but has been suffering from constant injuries. He won eight strikeouts and one run in seven innings at the match against Softbank on April 24, but was erased from the first division due to upper body fatigue, and was injured again after allowing nine strikeouts and one run in six innings at the match against Hiroshima on August 8, when he returned after a two-week break. Japan’s local response is that the timing of his return will be later than expected.
In the U.S., the Washington Post and others dealt with Sasaki’s injury, and there is a growing anxiety in Japan. “Overseas media are criticizing Sasaki Rocky’s failure to make a quick return, saying, ‘Even if he throws 165 kilometers per hour, it is meaningless if he is too glassy.” Tokyo Sports said on the same day.
“Criticism is growing against Chiba Lotte pitcher Sasaki, who is aiming to challenge the MLB soon,” the media said. “Sasaki was excluded from the list for the second time this season due to poor condition of his right upper extremity on the 13th, but manager Yoshii Masato said he would not return until the game against Softbank on the 23rd at the earliest. The return is expected to be delayed further.”
It also cited an article by Inside the Padres, a local media outlet of Padres interested in recruiting Sasaki. Inside the Padres said, “If these health problems are repeated, the transfer to the U.S., where he expressed a strong will to play, may be delayed.”