The Fastest Runner in Baseball! Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks’ Yuki Shuto Talks About “Reaching 300 Career Stolen Bases First”

Pressure and Confidence

As of last year, he had recorded 230 career stolen bases and holds the world record for 13 consecutive games with a stolen base——.

Ukyo Shuto (30) of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, the fastest player in professional baseball, has had remarkable stories since childhood. He says he has no memory of ever being caught playing tag, and that he used to catch wild rabbits in the mountains near his hometown in Gunma Prefecture. Shuto says with a laugh:

“That story’s been embellished quite a bit. But it’s not a complete lie.”

Shuto’s speed needs little explanation. On March 10 of this year, during the WBC first-round game against the Czech Republic, he turned an ordinary ground ball into an infield hit by sprinting past first base.In the game against the Lotte Marines on May 10, he stole home on his own initiative. While Shuto appears to be steadily building his career on the strength of his renowned speed, he says he has faced various struggles and adversities along the way. Here, in his own words, is the story of Shuto’s baseball journey, having worked his way up from the farm system.

“Influenced by my parents, who were Giants fans, I started playing baseball in the second grade of elementary school. Even back then, I was good at base running and defense.”

For high school, he attended his local school, Higashi-Noda University No. 2 High School in Gunma Prefecture. Although he had never played in the Koshien Tournament and wasn’t thinking about turning pro at the time, he says his mindset changed after enrolling at Higashi-Noda University Hokkaido Okhotsk.

“I had seniors right around me who were drafted by pro teams, like Ren Kazahari (formerly of the Yakult Swallows) and Kazutomo Iguchi (currently with Oisix). That made me think, ‘I can do that too.’ However, I was aware that I hadn’t quite reached the pro level yet, so I wasn’t fixated on my draft position or anything like that.”

Shuto was selected second overall in the Development Draft by the SoftBank Hawks, drawn in by his speed—he can run 50 meters in 5.7 seconds. Although his professional career began in the farm system, he says it was a shocking experience.

“There were so many talented seniors in the farm team—Tomoaki Egawa among the hitters and Tadashi Settsu among the pitchers. I wondered, ‘Even at this level, can’t I make it to the first team?’… On the other hand, I was confident in my speed. In my first year, I led the Western League with 27 stolen bases.”

In March 2019, his second year, he was added to the active roster. Although his batting average was .196, he led the team with 25 stolen bases. In his third year, he recorded 50 stolen bases and became the first player to come up through the farm system to win the stolen base title.

“It might look like I’m stealing bases easily, but I felt intense pressure every single time. It was a huge burden to have people think, ‘It’s only natural for Shuto to succeed.’ I was really saved by the words of Coach Yuichi Honda (Infield Defense, Baserunning, and Strategy) back then.‘It’s okay. If you just take a normal lead, you’ll succeed.’ After that, I stopped obsessing over the idea that I ‘had to get a perfect start.’
Coach Honda also told me, ‘Look at the big picture.’ I observed and committed to memory the opposing pitcher’s timing, pickoff habits, and the direction of my teammates’ hits. That knowledge gave me confidence, and I almost never hesitated when making baserunning decisions.”

“It’s not just about his legs.”

Shuto’s speed has amazed the world. He was selected for the Japanese national team for the WBC in March 2023. In the semifinal against Mexico, he entered the game as a pinch-runner in the bottom of the ninth inning and, on a hit by Munetaka Murakami, sprinted from first base straight to home plate without hesitation. His “divine baserunning” contributed to the walk-off victory.

However, he says he also felt a strong sense of crisis.

“I was also selected for the WBSC Premier 12 in November ’19, but I wasn’t a full-time starter for the Hawks at the time. It felt strange to be on the national team when I wasn’t even in the starting lineup. I became acutely aware that, in order to first secure a starting spot with the Hawks and become a Japan national team player recognized by both myself and others, speed alone wasn’t enough—I had to improve my hitting as well.”

Shuto’s hitting ability improved significantly thanks to two mentors: Yuya Hasegawa, the hitting and skills coach, and Chief Baseball Officer Kenji Jojima.

“Coach Hasegawa taught me the no-step swing. Since I lack raw power, I used to lift my leg to generate momentum and drive the ball. However, the larger my body movement became, the lower my chances of making solid contact. Following Coach Hasegawa’s advice to use a shuffling step, my contact rate shot up.
“I received two weeks of intensive, one-on-one instruction from Mr. Shirojima during the spring training camp in ’24. I used to think I had to adjust my swing—pulling the ball or letting it go depending on the pitch—but Mr. Shirojima told me, ‘Basically, just hit it back to center field.’ That simplified my approach, and I was able to step into the batter’s box with more composure.”

Shuto is also working on gaining weight to build power. By increasing the number of meals he eats and actively doing strength training, his weight—which was in the 60-kilogram range during the 2023 WBC—rose to 74 kg by the time of this February’s training camp.As of July 20, he is batting .285 this season, ranking 10th in the league. However, he says he doesn’t fixate too much on his batting average.

“My senior teammate, Kensuke Kondo, told me this: If you fixate on your batting average, you’ll get caught up in the ups and downs of the numbers—‘it went up,’ ‘it went down.’If you’re going to focus on something, focus on hits. By building up one hit at a time, the number doesn’t decrease, and even if I don’t get a hit, I can shift my focus to the next at-bat. Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ve given up on stealing bases. First, I’m aiming for 300 career stolen bases. I’ll keep running from here on out.”

With his natural speed combined with strong hitting ability, no one would dispute that Shuto is Samurai Japan’s lead-off hitter.

From the August 7 & 14, 2026, combined issue of *FRIDAY*