He Walked Away From a Career to Chase a Dream—Now He’s Fighting for an MLB Future

A 40.50 ERA during his college career

“I’ve finally made it to the starting line.”

These are the words of pitcher Kippei Mikawa (24), who signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs by June 1.

Mikawa was formerly a corporate employee at IT company CyberAgent, where he worked in advertising sales. His unusual journey—from leaving the corporate world behind to pursuing a challenge in Major League Baseball—is told here in his own words.

After graduating from junior high school in his hometown of Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Mikawa entered Kasumigaoka High School in Saitama, a powerhouse baseball program.

As a highly regarded right-handed pitcher who could throw as fast as 149 km/h, he went on to join the baseball team at Rikkyo University.

“I was nearly 190 cm tall and could throw faster than most people, so from the beginning I was constantly told that I had a lot of potential.

But I didn’t know how to use that talent effectively in actual games. I became too focused on simply throwing strikes, and my pitching mechanics gradually fell apart.

I completely lost sight of the correct way to throw.”

His final appearance as a college player came against the University of Tokyo in the autumn Tokyo Big6 Baseball League during his senior year.

However, he failed to record even a single out and allowed five runs.

His overall record at Rikkyo University ended with a shocking statistic: a 40.50 ERA over three appearances.

“I’m not usually the type of person who gets discouraged easily, but I honestly felt sorry toward my teammates, and it was frustrating.

At the same time, I also felt strangely relieved. I thought, ‘This is the end of baseball for me. If becoming a professional isn’t possible, I’ll just move on.'”

Alone at an Inn

After stepping away from baseball, Mikawa began searching for a job. He received an offer from CyberAgent (hereafter, Cyber).

At the company, employees frequently had opportunities to present their career visions.

“I was stuck. I enjoyed my work and was surrounded by great colleagues, but I couldn’t think of any goals I had as a professional.

One day, I decided, ‘I need to seriously think about what I really want to do,’ so I stayed alone at a ryokan in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture.

I locked myself in my room and spent the time writing down my entire life story in a notebook.

Then I realized once again that baseball was the only thing I truly had.”

Around that time, he received a LINE message saying:

“How have you been spending your time since then?”

The message came from Yusuke Kitagawa, the representative of the baseball training gym DIMENSIONING (known as DIME), where Mikawa had trained during his university years.

It was November 2025, a little more than six months after Mikawa had joined CyberAgent.

“After Kitagawa-san reached out to me, I went back to DIME for the first time in a while and tried pitching again. I was able to throw around 147 km/h.

I felt that if I challenged myself one more time, I might still be able to aim for the next level.

Kitagawa-san told me, ‘Kippei, you can make it to the majors.’ Those words pushed me, and I decided to return to baseball.

I left CyberAgent, a company that had taken great care of me, in March this year.”

Mikawa signed with DIME and resumed serious training.

“DIME shared my information with people connected to Major League Baseball through social media.

My training videos and TrackMan data—a system that precisely measures things like ball trajectory and spin rate—caught the attention of Cubs scouts.

I met with Cubs scouts, and they explained my areas for improvement and their development plan for me. I was able to clearly picture the steps I needed to take to improve.

That led to this contract, but the real challenge begins now.”

The dream journey of this “former salaryman turned MLB prospect” has only just begun.

The July 10 issue of “FRIDAY,” released on June 25, along with the paid edition “FRIDAY GOLD,” features Mikawa’s detailed account of his actual work at CyberAgent and his training after leaving the company.

The issues also include exclusive photos covering his time as a company employee and his training sessions at DIME.

For more details and additional photos, click below:

From the July 10, 2026, issue of “FRIDAY”