Professional baseball pitcher Aki Sasaki of Lotte, who achieved a perfect game last season, conducted voluntary training in his hometown of Iwate Prefecture, saying, "I want to improve everything and make it a better year than last year." said his aspirations.
21-year-old pitcher Sasaki was the youngest pitcher in history to complete the 16th perfect game in 28 years last season.
In the second half of the season, he was affected by fatigue and finger blisters, but in 20 games he pitched for 9 wins and 4 losses with a 2.02 ERA.
On the 4th, they did their own training in Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, where they returned to their hometown.
After the training, pitcher Sasaki, who responded to the interview online, said, "I want to improve everything and make it a better year than last year."
Looking ahead to the 4th season, he said, "As the center of the team, I will do my best with the feeling that I will definitely win on the day I throw. I hope that the team will win the championship as a result." I was.
Also, in preparation for the WBC = World Baseball Classic, which will start in March, he has started playing catch using the ball used in the tournament, saying, "I don't know the actual feeling unless I throw it in the game. I'm getting used to it. First of all, I want to be able to play catch in a form close to 100%.I want to do my best and contribute to the team."