Okoye’s eccentric hairstyle was also a topic of conversation. (Image: Jiji Press) What is the “Koshien hero” doing now? He is Rui Okoye, 24, who was drafted first overall by Rakuten in 2016 out of Kanto I High School (Tokyo). He has a strong shoulder with a long throw of 120m, visual acuity of over 2.0, a 50m run of 5.96 seconds, and a swing speed of 157km. His physical abilities are well recognized by all, but he has not had a satisfactory season since joining the pro ranks. He has made no appearances for the first team so far this season.   “Last season, he was promoted to the first team for the first time in two years, but he allowed all the runners to reach base with the bases loaded due to a sloppy play against Softbank in October. He was demoted to the second team again, much to the displeasure of GM and manager Kazuhisa Ishii. The reason for his slump was his mentality. Every year, he affirms himself that he is growing too well, but when he receives comments from his coaches and manager, he becomes frustrated. His feelings are not consistent. In the “Asian Winter League” held in Taiwan in the off-season of 2016, he returned home because of “wisdom tooth pain”. In the following year’s Winter League in Mexico, when he struck out three batters in a row in his first game and had to be replaced, he returned to Japan earlier than planned, saying, “Everything was different than I expected.” The leadership is hoping that he will be more patient and concentrate on baseball,” said a source close to the team. Ishii made the following complaint immediately after Okoye renewed his contract at the end of 2020: “He thinks too much.” “He is not thinking straight. If he doesn’t come out of it soon, his own baseball career will suffer. This is the critical point. I feel that his self-esteem is a little high. He needs to be humbler. You can’t just give him a chance and say, “Here you go.”