Tomotaka Sakaguchi, a veteran of professional baseball and Yakult, who was the last active player to play for Kintetsu, announced his retirement. Did.
38-year-old Sakaguchi joined Kintetsu in 2003 as the first draft pick.
In 2011, after merging with ORIX, he played an active role as a main force, such as winning the title of most hits, and since 2016, he has played for Yakult, but the opportunity to participate has decreased in the past few years.
Sakaguchi held a press conference at Jingu Stadium on the 30th and announced that he would retire from active play at the end of this season, saying, "I've been wanting to be a regular player for 20 years, but I think I can do it for another year or two. I thought that it was wrong to face baseball with that kind of feeling.”
He also thanked the fans, saying, "I wasn't a player who could do a lot of fan service, but even so, every team supported me a lot, and I can't express my gratitude in words."
Regarding his hit in last year's Japan Series, where he played against Orix, his former club, and received cheers from fans of both teams, he said, "I was surprised to receive applause from 360 degrees, and I was really moved. I'm glad I did my best." I looked back.
Also, regarding being the last active professional baseball player who played for Kintetsu, he said, "I am grateful because it is a team that created the beginning of my professional baseball life." I came here because I thought I had to do my best so that this would come out."
The retirement ceremony for Seiichi Uchikawa and Motohiro Shima, who will retire from active duty this season like Sakaguchi, will be held at the DeNA match at Jingu Stadium on the 3rd of next month.