In the active draft of professional baseball that was held for the first time this month, Naomasa Hikawa, who transferred from Hanshin to Seibu, held a joining press conference and expressed his enthusiasm for acquiring a regular, saying, "I want to appeal my long hitting power and powerful batting."
31-year-old Yokawa has been conspicuously used as a pinch hitter in Hanshin this season, his ninth year, with a batting average of 20% and 9 minutes and 4 minutes in 45 appearances.
Then, in order to give a player who is not blessed with the opportunity to play a new place to play an active role, he transferred to Seibu in the active draft that was held for the first time this month.
On the 20th, Yokawa held a press conference at the team office in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, and said, "I was surprised at first when the transfer was decided, but I see it as an opportunity because I can play baseball in a new environment."
His jersey number was decided to be "52", and he expressed his enthusiasm for acquiring a regular at the new land, saying, "I want to show off my slugging power and powerful batting. This season is the season, so I want to show off my strengths from the first day of camp." I was.
General Manager Hisanobu Watanabe, who was present at the press conference, said, "I couldn't find a regular player in Hanshin, but I thought he was a player we needed because he had a lot of experience in the game. When I saw the list of active drafts, it was the first thing I saw. He was a player who came in."