Japan’s youngest Perfect Man, a candidate for the Korean War, already hit a 161 km light speed ball in February
Roki Sasaki (24, Chiba Lotte Marines), a fastball fireballer representing Japanese professional baseball, showed off his good condition in his first actual appearance in 2023.
Japanese media such as ‘Sports Hochi’ showed Sasaki’s perfect pitch in a practice match against the Yakult Swallows on the 15th with 2 innings, 1 hit, 5 strikeouts and no runs. Recording a maximum speed of 160 km, he proved that he was in the best condition ahead of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March.
In particular, Sasaki threw a 160km fastball against Yakult’s Munetaka Murakami, who hit the most home runs in a single season for Japanese players last year, striking out with a swing and gaining momentum.
With Sasaki already showing off his sharp pitch, Japan’s mound aiming for the 2023 WBC championship has become even more solid. Japan is lined with ace-class pitchers, including major league San Diego Padres ace Darvish and Sawamura Award winner Yoshinobu Yamamoto for two consecutive years.
From the Japanese point of view, ahead of the 2023 WBC final round 1 Group B match against Korea to be held at Tokyo Dome, Japan on March 10, I was happy to think about the starting pitcher selection.
In April of last year, at the age of 20 years and 5 months, Sasaki recorded 9 innings, 19 strikeouts and no runs against the Orix Buffaloes, writing the history of the youngest perfect game in Japanese professional baseball history. 안전놀이터
Compared to Shohei Ohtani, Darvish, and Yamamoto, he is not a player with a high level of recognition, but it is clear that he will not be an easy opponent if he starts in the Korean game. He is a type of pitcher that is difficult to target in short-term matches, as he makes full use of fastballs in the mid-150km range, high-speed forkballs, and slow curves with large drops.
