At a professional baseball draft meeting, Aichi Homare High School's Ihine Itsua, who was nominated by Softbank in first place, received the nomination greeting and said, "I was expected to become the best shortstop in the world, so I hope I can produce results. I want to do my best," he said enthusiastically.
Ihine, whose parents are from Nigeria, is a large infielder who has a triple edge in both offense and defense.
He was a shortstop in high school and was nominated by Softbank in first place at the draft meeting on the 20th.
On the evening of the 21st, three people, including Softbank's Tomohiro Nagai, head of the organization and training headquarters, visited a high school in Komaki City, Aichi Prefecture, and greeted Ihine.
Among them, the team presented a ball signed by chairman Sadaharu Oh and manager Hiroshi Fujimoto, as well as Ihine's favorite food, taiyaki.
After his greetings, Director Nagai said, "I have the potential to be top-class in both running, offense, and defense, so I want to spend time training my body and developing it. I want him to grow up to be a player who represents the world of baseball." Did.
In addition, Ihine said, "I really feel that I was nominated for the first place. I was expected to become the best shortstop in the world, so I will do my best to achieve results." .
After that, Ihine responded to the request of the press, put on a SoftBank hat and took a picture with a signed ball in his hand, and then enjoyed a delicious taiyaki.