<figure id="attachment_317307" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-317307" style="width: 830px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e8cbc005"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/d8d74e6370f1b2b90dd4817fc33a805b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-317307" class="wp-caption-text">Okoye&#8217;s good form is not continuing (PHOTO: Kyodo News)</figcaption></figure>
 The last-minute battle continues.
 Rui Okoye, 25, who joined the Giants this season as an active draft pick, was dropped by the second team on May 8 and promoted again on June 8, but was mostly used as a substitute. He has not been able to gain the trust of manager Tatsunori Hara and has not been able to get a regular role in the lineup.
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 The biggest reason is that his performance has been uneven. In April, the first month of the season, he had a reasonable batting average of .269, but in the following month of May, he went hitless, batting .030. He has a high batting average when there are no runners in scoring position, but he has not been able to take advantage of his opportunities, batting only .190 with runners in scoring position (as of June 21).
 Manager Hara prefers players who are consistently active. And if Okoye, who has no track record, doesn&#8217;t get better, he doesn&#8217;t need to be patient with him,&#8221; said a reporter for a sports newspaper.
<h2> Manager complains that Okoye&#8217;s thinking is &#8220;naive.</h2>
 During his time at Rakuten, Okoye was often criticized by the team&#8217;s leadership for his unrestrained behavior. Manager Kazuhisa Ishii said at the end of 2008, &#8220;He is not thinking straight. If he doesn&#8217;t come out soon, his own baseball career will suffer. He had a high self-esteem and sometimes became flustered when his coach gave him a warning.
 He came to the Giants as an active draft pick, and I think he knows that there is no way out for him. He seems to have changed as a player with the Giants. Even after dropping down to the second team, he listened to the coaching of manager Tomohiro Nioka and practiced diligently, saying, &#8216;I&#8217;m having my batting corrected.
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 However, the world of the pros is not so easy that a player can become a first-team regular just by putting his mind to it. The reality is that Okoye&#8217;s role is shrinking.
 The outfield that Okoye protects is saturated with players such as Yoshihiro Maru, Walker, Masato Akihiro, and Brinson. No matter how much Okoye wants to play, there is not enough room for him to play in the outfield. In the same right outfield, there is also a promising rookie, Masaya Hagio, who was drafted second overall this season.
 Hagio is a gem of a player, who hit a high .473 batting average in May and won the MVP award for the month for the second team. If he is promoted to the first team, Okoye&#8217;s opportunities will be reduced even further. If he is promoted to the first team, Okoye&#8217;s opportunities will be reduced even further, and unless he develops some outstanding skills, he may not be recognized as an effective player.
 (Aforementioned reporter) &#8220;A professional is only a professional when he consistently achieves good results. Okoye&#8217;s moment of truth will continue.

 Kyodo News

 The Giants' Okoye continues to fight on the edge. After a strong start to the season, he was dropped to the second team in May. After being promoted again, he has been mostly used as a substitute hitter. The outfield is saturated, and a big newcomer ...... threatens his existence. Okoye faces a grim future on the precipice.

Okoye, a member of the Giants, says he wanted to change his life and practiced hard, but his &#8220;uneven performance and the arrival of a big-name rookie have narrowed his role&#8221; and his future is on the precipice.

Okoye, a member of the Giants, says he wanted to change his life and practiced hard, but his “uneven performance and the arrival of a big-name rookie have narrowed his role” and his future is on the precipice.

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