Professional baseball player Kenji Sugitani of Nippon Ham will retire from active duty at the end of this season. I talked about why I decided.
Sugitani is 31 years old from Tokyo.
He joined Nippon-Ham in 2009 from Teikyo High School in 6th place in the draft, and has played as a switch hitter as a batter and a player who can protect the infield and outfield as a defense.
He is also a bright character and has been a mood maker for the team.
On the 28th, Sugitani held a press conference at the baseball team office in Sapporo City, stating, "I have been indebted for 14 years until today. I don't want to use the word retirement. I will move forward." and announced his retirement.
After that, Sugitani explained the reason why he decided to retire, saying, "After this season, I had a lot of consultations and interviews, and made a comprehensive decision about my future, the team, and my health." did.
Regarding the future, he said, "Right now, I'm learning a lot, but I want to broaden my horizons and give back to the sports world, not just baseball. I look forward to your continued support in the future."
At the end of the press conference, Hideki Kuriyama, manager of the Japan national team, who was the manager of Nippon Ham until last season, appeared and handed Sugitani a bouquet of flowers.
Sugitani is scheduled to participate in the Japan national team's warm-up match against Nippon-Ham on the 5th of next month.