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Roki Sasaki

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Rōki Sasaki
Sasaki with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2021
Chiba Lotte Marines – No. 17
Pitcher
Born: (2001-11-03) November 3, 2001 (age 22)
Rikuzentakata, Iwate, Japan
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
NPB debut
May 16, 2021, for the Chiba Lotte Marines
Career statistics
(through 2023)
Win–loss record19–10
Earned run average2.00
Strikeouts376
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Japan
World Baseball Classic
Gold medal – first place 2023 Miami Team

Rōki Sasaki (佐々木 朗希, Sasaki Rōki, born November 3, 2001), nicknamed "the Monster of the Reiwa Era" (令和の怪物, reiwa no kaibutsu) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He made his NPB debut in 2021.

Sasaki set a new Japanese high school baseball record with a fastball recorded at 163 kilometres per hour (101 mph). The Marines chose Sasaki in the first overall selection of the 2019 NPB draft. Taking care to avoid subjecting their rookie to premature physical stresses, the Marines held back until the 2021 season before allowing him to make his NPB debut. He threw a perfect game on April 10, 2022, in which he tied the NPB record for strikeouts in one game and set a new record for consecutive strikeouts.

Early life

Sasaki is from Rikuzentakata in the Iwate Prefecture. Born in 2001, he was named after the villain Rouki from Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger, a Super Sentai show that was aired in the same year.[2][3] He was in the third grade during the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. The resulting tsunami swept away his house. His father and grandparents died, and Sasaki, his mother, and his two brothers had to live in a nursing home during the recovery.[4][5][6] The family moved to Ōfunato the next year and Sasaki began to play baseball at his new school.[5]

Amateur career

Though Sasaki was recruited by other high schools, he chose to attend Ofunato High School to remain with his teammates.[6] He was nicknamed "the Monster of the Reiwa Era" (Reiwa no Kaibutsu 令和の怪物) because of his 163-kilometre-per-hour (101 mph) fastball in high school.[7][8] His fastball velocity broke the Japanese high school record set by Shohei Ohtani, and Sasaki began to earn comparisons to Ohtani.[6] His nickname is a reference to Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was known as "the Monster of the Heisei Era".[9]

Major League Baseball (MLB) teams hoped that Sasaki would pursue an MLB career, but he opted to remain with his high school team during the Japanese High School Baseball Championship.[10] Sasaki's manager rested him in the qualifying game where Ofunato was eliminated, drawing criticism.[11] Sasaki announced that he would pitch in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), declaring for the NPB draft.[6][12]

Professional career

After four teams attempted to select Sasaki in the 2019 NPB draft, the Chiba Lotte Marines of NPB's Pacific League won the lottery for the rights to the first overall selection, and selected Sasaki.[13][14] He received a signing bonus of ¥100 million (US$911,161.73).[15] To protect his arm, the Marines did not allow Sasaki to appear in a game during the 2020 season.[5] He made his NPB debut on May 16, 2021.[16] For the 2021 season, Sasaki had a 3–2 win–loss record, a 2.27 earned run average (ERA), and 68 strikeouts in 63+1⁄3 innings pitched across 11 appearances.[4][17] Sasaki made his postseason debut for the Marines in the 2021 Pacific League Climax Series, striking out 10 batters while allowing one run in six innings, as Lotte defeated the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.[17]

Further information: Rōki Sasaki's perfect game
Sasaki pitching in 2022

On April 10, 2022, Sasaki pitched a perfect game against the Orix Buffaloes. It was the 16th perfect game in NPB history, the first since Hiromi Makihara's perfect game in 1994, and the 94th no-hitter in NPB history, the first since August 15, 2020.[18] Sasaki tied the NPB record set by Koji Noda for total strikeouts in one game, with 19,[19] and set a new NPB record for consecutive strikeouts, having struck out 13 batters in a row.[19] This also became a new world record, beating out the 10 consecutive strikeouts achieved in MLB by Corbin Burnes, Tom Seaver, and Aaron Nola.[20]

In his next start, on April 17, Sasaki pitched eight perfect innings against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, before getting taken out from the game before the ninth inning by manager Tadahito Iguchi to protect Sasaki's health. He recorded 14 strikeouts on 102 pitches, including striking out the side in the eighth inning with a 101 mph fastball.[21] Sasaki finished the outing having retired 52 consecutive batters, setting an NPB record. The MLB record for retiring consecutive batters is 46 by Yusmeiro Petit.[22] Sasaki allowed a hit on the first pitch that he threw in his next game, on April 24.[23] He finished the season 9–4 with a 2.02 ERA and 173 strikeouts in 129+1⁄3 innings pitched.[24]

On April 28, 2023, Sasaki threw 4 pitches at a speed of 165 km/h (102.5 mph), which tied the record of the fastest pitch thrown in NPB history (alongside Shohei Ohtani).[25]

International career

Sasaki pitched for the Japanese national baseball team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).[26] He made his first start of the competition on March 11 against the Czech Republic, pitching 3+2⁄3 innings while giving up two hits, an unearned run, two walks, and recording eight strikeouts.[27] On March 20, he started in Japan's WBC semifinal game against Mexico, pitching for four innings while giving up five hits, three runs, and recording three strikeouts.[28] He finished the tournament at 1–0 with a 3.52 ERA and 11 strikeouts across 7+2⁄3 innings, receiving a gold medal in Japan's championship victory over the United States.[29]

Sasaki's performance in the 2023 WBC received international media attention. In his start against Mexico, his average four-seam fastball velocity was 100.5 miles per hour (161.7 km/h) and topped out at 101.9 miles per hour (164.0 km/h). His split-finger fastball averaged 91.2 miles per hour (146.8 km/h) and generated 31.4 inches (800 mm) of vertical break.[30] Three Major League Baseball executives compared Sasaki's abilities at age 21 to those of Stephen Strasburg, who was selected first overall in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft and was considered one of the most anticipated prospects in the league's history.[31][32]

Playing style

Sasaki listed at 6 ft 4 in (1.92 m) and 203 pounds (92 kg).[33] A right-handed pitcher with a three-quarters delivery,[34] he throws a fastball topping out at 165 kilometres per hour (102.5 mph).[35] In 2022 season, his fastball averaged 158.3 kilometres per hour (98.4 mph) as a starter.[36] He also throws a forkball, a curveball, and a slider.[37][38] The forkball is the best off-speed pitch in his arsenal.[39]

References

  1. ^ "【速報】千葉市、ロッテ朗希と松川に感動賞 「千葉移転３０周年の偉業、感慨深い」".
  2. ^ 佐々木朗希の名はかっこいいガオレンジャー悪役由来
  3. ^ WBC日本優勝で「ガオレンジャー」がトレンド入り　佐々木朗希の名前の由来が…
  4. ^ a b "Baseball: Marines' Roki Sasaki thankful for support after 2011 disaster". English.kyodonews.net. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Jim Allen (March 11, 2021). "Sasaki poised for 1st game". jballallen.com. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d "Japanese teen's triple-digit fastball has some calling him the next Shohei Ohtani". Los Angeles Times. July 26, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  7. ^ "【球界ここだけの話（１９９０）】ロッテ・佐々木朗の無限の可能性". Sanspo.com (in Japanese). June 10, 2020.
  8. ^ "「令和の怪物」佐々木朗希が挑む最後の夏 １６３キロ右腕の潜在能力". Jiji.com (in Japanese). July 12, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  9. ^ Yoshimi Kamada (February 11, 2022). "平成の怪物と令和の怪物初対面 松坂大輔氏にロッテ佐々木朗希「ブルペン見た感想教わりました」". Nikkan Sports.
  10. ^ "Baseball: Highly sought Japanese high school pitcher Roki Sasaki hits 160 kph". English.kyodonews.net. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  11. ^ "Give me a break: Japanese coach takes heat for resting ace". ABC News.
  12. ^ "High school ace Roki Sasaki declares for NPB draft". The Japan Times. October 2, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  13. ^ "千葉ロッテマリーンズ 選択選手一覧". Draft.npb.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  14. ^ "Marines make high school hurler Roki Sasaki top pick in NPB amateur draft". The Japan Times. October 17, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  15. ^ "Chiba Lotte pitcher Roki Sasaki throws first NPB perfect game in 28 years, breaks world record with 13 consecutive strikeouts". World Baseball Softball Confederation.
  16. ^ Coskrey, Jason (May 17, 2021). "Roki Sasaki makes highly anticipated NPB debut with Marines". The Japan Times. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Coskrey, Jason (November 7, 2021). "'Reiwa Monster' Roki Sasaki lives up to hype in Climax Series debut". The Japan Times. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  18. ^ "Lotte pitcher Roki Sasaki throws Japan's 16th perfect game". The Japan Times. April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  19. ^ a b "Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, 20, throws 19-strikeout perfect game in record-setting performance". ESPN. April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022. Sasaki, a right-hander for the Chiba Lotte Marines, tied an NPB record with his 19 strikeouts against the Orix Buffaloes. He also struck out 13 consecutive batters at one point, a record in Japanese pro baseball, according to Kyodo News.
  20. ^ "Roki Sasaki of Japan Strikes Out 19 in Perfect Game - The New York Times". The New York Times. April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  21. ^ "Japanese phenom extends perfect innings streak". ESPN.com. April 17, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  22. ^ Axisa, Mike (April 17, 2022). "Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki throws eight perfect innings in first start after 19-strikeout perfect game". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  23. ^ Axisa, Mike (April 24, 2022). "Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki has streak of 17 consecutive perfect innings snapped on first pitch of start". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  24. ^ "'It's as if he's throwing his soul': Get to know Japanese ace Roki Sasaki". MLB.com.
  25. ^ "佐々木朗希が１６５キロを４発！気迫の投球で勝ち越し許さず７回３失点 大谷と並ぶＮｐｂ日本人最速タイ記録（デイリースポーツ）".
  26. ^ "P Sasaki, 21, will start for Japan in WBC semifinal". ESPN. March 19, 2023.
  27. ^ "Czech Republic 2-10 Japan". ESPN. March 11, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  28. ^ "Mexico 5-6 Japan". ESPN. March 20, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  29. ^ "2023 WBC Player Pitching Stats". World Baseball Classic. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  30. ^ Adler, David (March 22, 2023). "Roki Sasaki's stuff is as amazing as we thought". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  31. ^ Glaser, Kyle (March 20, 2023). "Roki Sasaki Is About To Get His Close-Up At The World Baseball Classic". Baseball America. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  32. ^ Crasnick, Jerry (June 2, 2010). "Bryce Harper, you're next". ESPN. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  33. ^ "Roki Sasaki". Npb.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  34. ^ "専門家が徹底解剖 佐々木朗希「163キロ直球」を生かす秘策｜日刊ゲンダイDIGITAL". Nikkan-gendai.com (in Japanese). January 14, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  35. ^ "佐々木朗希が日本人最速タイの165キロ！ 並ばれた大谷翔平はベンチで思わず笑顔". Full-Count（フルカウント） ― 野球ニュース・速報・コラム ―. March 4, 2023.
  36. ^ "【ロッテ】佐々木朗希の今季成績一覧 年間直球平均158．３キロ 20試合で９勝４敗 - プロ野球 : 日刊スポーツ".
  37. ^ "【独占】160キロ連発ロッテ佐々木朗希のストレートの極意に迫る！「プロスピA」風に球種を自己査定". nippon.com. March 27, 2022.
  38. ^ "ロッテ・佐々木朗希、速球だけではない高度な投球術 カメラマンが捉えたその瞬間/デイリースポーツ". Daily.co.jp (in Japanese). May 26, 2023.
  39. ^ "佐々木朗希を米メディア"徹底解剖" 数年後の予習「世界一の投手になる可能性」". Full-Count（フルカウント） ― 野球ニュース・速報・コラム ―. April 21, 2022.
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