The Surprising Moment When Chiba Lotte’s Akinori Sasaki, “Glass Ace,” Awakened

Before a game against Chiba Lotte on March 5, Softbank manager Hiroshi Fujimoto, 58, told the Nine to “pull it. The “return to center” is an effective way to attack pitchers with good fastballs and forks, but Akinori Sasaki (20), who took the mound that day, thought that he would not make it if he did not start fast enough with the intention of pulling his fastball.

Sasaki’s pitching went even further than manager Fujimoto expected: he pitched five innings, allowing two hits and striking out nine. His average velocity of 160.1 km/h is one of the best in the majors. His 149-kilometer fork was so powerful that even the league’s best hitter, Gita (Yuki Yanagida, 33), was on tenterhooks.

The “Monster of 2025” has begun to show his true potential. Masahide Kobayashi, a baseball commentator and Chiba Lotte alumnus, looks on with narrowed eyes.

I remember when I was shocked when I saw Sasaki playing catch in his first year as a pro. He was throwing a tremendous ball that went straight up the middle. I was convinced that he would come out soon, and now the time has finally come. I was worried about his thinness, but he has the body of a pro.”

Soichi Fujita, another Chiba Lotte alumnus who supported the team’s bullpen during its golden years, focuses on “stability of the trunk and lower body.

When he enters the pitching motion and lifts his left leg high, he can stand perfectly still with just one leg on his axis. Because his lower body is stable, he can swing his long arm firmly. My release is also stable, and I no longer get hit hard by loose pitches.

His body could not keep up with his potential, and he suffered a series of injuries in high school. In his junior year at Ofunato High School, he was forced to sit out the final of the Iwate Prefectural Tournament, and he also pitched only one inning for the U-18 Japan National Team.

Sasaki’s development was extremely careful. Even if he didn’t pitch, he was still a member of the first team. Even if he didn’t pitch, he was still in the first team, so that then-coach Rito Yoshii could manage him directly. Sometimes, when pitching against hitters, a player from the second team would be called up, but there were many times when he cancelled because of ‘discomfort in his elbow. Naturally, there was outrage, but Sasaki did not throw. He kept his own pace, and in his second year, last season, he was able to produce results in the first team with enough time between appearances, and was even entrusted with the first game in the CS. He was able to block out the noise with his results. Both the manager at Ofunato High School and Mr. Yoshii were students of Associate Professor Taku Kawamura of Tsukuba University, a leading expert in motion analysis. The ‘glass ace’ was able to awaken by being nurtured under a leader with scientific knowledge,” said a Lotte reporter for a sports newspaper.

Kawamura, like Fujita, praises the “stability of the core and lower body.

Kawamura, like Fujita, praised the stability of the player’s torso and lower body, saying, “The player is able to transmit power to the ball more easily than before. I have the impression that he is finally becoming untouchable. His speed will continue to increase, and he should be able to reach 170 km/h. In terms of ability, I would say that he is already the best in Japan at this point.”

We may witness another legend of professional baseball this season.

From the March 25, 2022 issue of FRIDAY