Shinnosuke Ogasawara Talks Admiration for Daisuke Matsuzaka and Potential Transfer Destinations

Chunichi’s Shinnosuke Ogasawara (27) has officially decided to aim for a move to Major League Baseball this offseason. Ogasawara had expressed his desire to challenge for the majors two years ago, and on October 22, the team approved his move through the posting system. Ogasawara commented through the team,

“I received understanding from the new manager (Kazuki Inoue). There are many uncertainties, but I will take on this challenge.”

He has already signed with a major U.S. agency and is preparing for the move.

“Ogasawara, who is from Fujisawa City in Kanagawa Prefecture, was a member of the prestigious ‘Shonan Boys’ during his junior high school days. In his third year, he won the ‘All Japan Junior High School Baseball Championship Giants Cup.’ He then went on to Tokai University Sagami High School, where he helped lead the team to the national championship at the 2015 Summer Koshien. In an article published on October 25 by ‘BASEBALL KING,’ it was reported that he had said, ‘When I was young, I was close to the Yokohama BayStars, but watching Japanese players perform in the majors on TV, I thought, ‘I want to do this.'” (Sports newspaper reporter)

 

He is cool no matter what he does.

Among the Japanese players who have succeeded in the majors, Ogasawara may feel the strongest desire to get closer to Daisuke Matsuzaka (44). Matsuzaka, who was the ace of Yokohama High School in Kanagawa Prefecture and a Koshien championship-winning pitcher, moved to the Boston Red Sox through the posting system in November 2006. In his first year with the team in 2007, he won 15 games and helped them win the league title. That same year, he became a World Series champion. Matsuzaka returned to Japan in 2018 and joined Chunichi, where he and Ogasawara were teammates for two years.

In August 2018, the magazine “FRIDAY” interviewed Ogasawara, who was in his third year with the team, having served as the opening pitcher and recorded his first complete game shutout that year, emerging as the ace of Chunichi. In the interview, he shared his thoughts on Matsuzaka.

“Yeah, he’s cool, right? How can I put it… What I used to watch when I was little was Matsuzaka with the Red Sox, and I thought, ‘He’s so cool.’ Before anything about his pitching, I just thought he was cool to watch. To think that someone I admired is now in the same locker room. Everything he does is cool. I think he’s cool even beyond baseball.”