Teruaki Sato, the first-ranked rookie in the draft of professional baseball and Hanshin, struck out the 122nd strikeout against Hiroshima at Kyocera Dome Osaka on the night of the 13th, breaking the record for newcomers in the season.
In the first at-bat of the second inning, Sato missed out on a changing ball from Hiroshima starting pitcher Daichi Ohsera and struck out, bringing the number of strikeouts to 122 this season.
Kosuke Fukudome of Chunichi recorded 121 strikeouts in the season for newcomers in professional baseball, and Sato updated this in the 85th game of the team.
This season, his first year as a pro, Sato has participated in all games since the opening and marked 20 home runs to become the team's top with a bold swing, while the number of strikeouts has also increased.
The most strikeouts of the season for professional baseball are 204, which was recorded in 1993 by former Kintetsu Ralph Bryant, who won the home run king three times.