Young Stars Struggle in Second Team After Short Pitching Stints and Repeated Lateness

It was a hard-hitting game.

Akira Neo, 23, of Chunichi, who started a Western League game against Hanshin on April 2, gave up four runs and a walk in 1 1/3 innings of work, giving up five hits.

He gave up four walks and five hits in 1 1/3 innings. “I found that I was ahead on the ball and had not improved my control. He gave up four walks in a row, often with the bases loaded, and was completely inconsistent. Nebo is an extremely serious person, as he says, “I spend my days off reading books. Once he starts worrying, he gets lost in thought. He has said that his pitching on the second day was ‘no excuse,’ but I hope he doesn’t get more depressed than necessary. ……

Chunichi’s first-arm starters have been stable, with Yuya Yanagi, Hideaki Wakui, Mejia, and Shinnosuke Ogasawara. The current situation is that there is no room for Neo, who has a 7.0 earned-run average (as of April 10), to take advantage of the second team.

Neo throws a 150-km straight ball with a slider, fork, and other breaking pitches, and his ball itself is first-class. However, he has a mental problem in that he cannot fully control his emotions. Even though he throws a great ball in the bullpen, there are many cases where he throws four pitches in a row once he takes the mound. If you can’t tell how he’s doing until he pitches, he may be too dangerous for the leaders to use him in the first team.

That’s it.”

It has only been two years since Nebo switched from a dual role as a fielder to a full-fledged pitcher. We should watch his development with a long term perspective.

There is another promising youngster who has been languishing in the second team. He is Masato Akihiro, 21, of the Giants, who hit double-digit home runs last year.

In the open games, he was sluggish with a .125 batting average. He has also been sluggish in the second team, hitting in the low .200 range. Manager Shinnosuke Abe seems to be expecting him to be able to hit long balls using his 2-meter height, but he is trying to increase his batting average. There may be a divergence in direction between the leaders, who do not want him to stay small, and the team.

Manager Abe is also asking players to be disciplined with the themes of “self-sacrifice” and “dedication. Akihiro overslept and was late twice for official events last offseason. Manager Abe expressed his displeasure, saying, “I think I’ll send him to the third team. He is probably being strict with Akihiro in order to make him change his attitude toward life so that he can become a person worthy of being the main gun of the Giants, a gentleman. As for the reason for dropping Akihiro to the second team, manager Abe said before the season opener, “Because he didn’t produce any results, that’s all. That’s all.

(A reporter in charge of the sports paper) “Because expectations are so high, Abe is giving them a loving whip. However, it goes without saying that no matter how much support he receives from those around him, whether or not he can flourish in the professional world depends on his own efforts and awareness.