“I’ve become an ‘old guy’…”—SoftBank’s Yuki Yanagita’s Exclusive Confession: “I’m a better baseball player now”

“I think, after all, in professional baseball, if you can’t make money, it’s over. It’s a world that’s simple and easy to understand, no matter how you look at it. That’s probably why it’s so interesting.”

Yuki Yanagita (37), who has won seven league titles and eight Japan Series championships with the SoftBank Hawks—the Pacific League’s dominant powerhouse—is entering the final year of his seven-year contract this year.In the offseason of 2019, when he was 31, he declared he would play for the Hawks for the rest of his career, signing a contract worth an estimated 4 billion yen. The man who has become a franchise player in both name and deed—etching his name into the team’s history—is now said to be battling the effects of aging that come at him day by day.

“This job—the daily rhythm is kind of weird, isn’t it?When I was younger, I could go out for yakiniku after a night game, drink until morning, and sleep until well past noon… and still play at full strength every day. But if I did the same thing now, I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. So, even for night games at home, I make sure to be in bed by midnight, and even on the road, I’m in bed by 1:00 a.m.

I’ve also started paying more attention to my diet. I hardly eat fried foods anymore, and I generally resist the urge to snack. But after dinner on a day when I’ve really given it my all, I treat myself to some Häagen-Dazs ice cream. That’s a whole different stomach! (laughs)”

The time he spends preparing before practice—which he recalls as “seriously zero” back when he was a young player—has gradually increased to one or two hours as he’s gotten older.

“Man, it’s tough. My body used to move on its own without me having to do anything, but it’s gradually becoming less responsive. So, I’m working hard to increase my explosive power training to make sure my body moves the way I want it to during matches.On the team, I’m surrounded by younger players, and when I get home, my (three) kids are growing up so fast… I really feel like I’ve become an old man now. (laughs)”

Even so, Yanagita hits the ball farther than anyone else during pre-game batting practice. On the day I visited for an interview, he was driving line drives to the opposite field that left the younger players speechless, but he just laughed it off, saying, “Seriously, it’s really no big deal. (Those hits) are trash!”Fifteen years after securing a starting spot in Fukuoka, the Hawks’ main slugger—who has racked up over 1,600 hits and more than 270 home runs—remains humble to the core.

“But when I was a rookie, I underestimated professional baseball. It was Mr. Kurano who changed that mindset for me.”

Yanagita joined the SoftBank Hawks in 2011 as the second overall draft pick. After his rookie season—which ended with just six first-team appearances—he headed to Puerto Rico for a two-month training stint in the Winter League.Accompanying him on that trip was Shinji Kurano (51), the first-team chief pitching coach and head coordinator. While living and eating together, Yanagita says he was taught the skills needed to survive in the baseball world.

“Apparently, when Mr. Kurano asked me, ‘What kind of baseball player do you want to be?’, I blurted out something nonsensical like, ‘I’m not really sure, but I guess I’ll be a regular in a few years?’ (laughs). I wrote the baseball notebook I had to submit every day in that same casual spirit.

But then Mr. Kurano scolded me, saying, ‘Are you taking this lightly? Don’t be so complacent!’ He taught me a lot about the importance of practice and the mindset required of a professional baseball player.Even now, I sometimes talk with Mr. Kurano about those days. Every time we do, I can’t believe I actually said things like that back then.”

Gita’s “Time to Step Down”

After his mentor’s stern rebuke opened his eyes, Yanagita spent his 20s in glory—achieving the “Triple Three” in 2015 and leading his team to the league championship and the Japan Series title—but his 30s were plagued by injuries.In ’19, he was sidelined by a muscle strain behind his left knee; in ’22, by rotator cuff tendinitis in his left shoulder; and in ’24, by a right hamstring injury. Last year, a bone contusion in his right tibia limited him to just 20 games—his fewest in his professional career, excluding his rookie year.

Even Yanagita, once dubbed the “Hawks’ Superhuman,” admits, “It’s been tough since I signed that seven-year contract.”

“Simply put, I’d think, ‘Do I really have to devote everything to baseball for this much time left…?’ and it was definitely tough. That’s precisely why the injuries took such a mental toll on me. Plus, I recover more slowly now than I did in my 20s. As the time I couldn’t play grew longer, I found myself thinking more and more, ‘Isn’t this about reaching my limit?’

But here I am, still playing baseball. So I’ve stopped dwelling on it and have come to see it all as necessary experience for me.

My body might have been more agile when I was younger, but I think I’m a better baseball player now—someone who has incorporated knowledge about practice, training, diet, and sleep, and is actually putting it into practice.”

The July 10 issue of *FRIDAY*, on sale June 25, and the paid version *FRIDAY GOLD* feature a detailed interview with Yanagita—who is approaching the age of 40—discussing his thoughts on “when to retire” and other topics.

From the July 10, 2026 issue of *FRIDAY*