Kawabata still pulling for sis

Yakult Swallows third baseman Shingo Kawabata (31) said Saturday that he will do his best for both himself and his 29-year-old sister, Yuki, who has retired from her career as a player in Japan’s women’s pro baseball league.

See the original Sponichi article HERE.

 ”I’m still not able to get my head around it,” Kawabata said from Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, where he’s working out in the offseason. “It might make things a little lonely. Until now, our parents had split their time between her games and mine, and now they’ll only have my half.”

“It makes me want to do well not just for myself but for her as well.”

Yuki had been with the Japan Women’s Baseball League, now a four-team circuit, since its first season in 2010, and is a three-time batting champion. She did not play last season.

Shingo, the Central League batting champion in 2015, when the Swallows went from worst to first only to lose the Japan Series in five games to the powerhouse SoftBank Hawks. The left-handed hitting master of the art of fouling off pitches until getting a fat one had surgery for a herniated disc last year and was limited to 97 games.

“The only thought on my mind is getting my regular job back,” said Kawabata, who despite his injury played 33 more games at third than any of his teammates.

The Swallows used an NPB-high 11 different third basemen, and the combined OPS of all their starters at third was .715, 11th worst among NPB’s 12 teams with only the Orix Buffaloes’ .668 ranking lower.

Yang not giving CF job away

Outfielder Yang Dai-kang, or Yo Dai-kang as he’s known using the popular Japanese reading of the Chinese character of his family name, said Friday that new Giant Yoshihiro Maru is not welcome to have Yomiuri’s center field job without a fight, the Nikkan Sports reports.

In December 2016, Yang joined the Giants on a five-year deal worth 1.5 billion yen ($13.8 million), has played in only 87 games in each of his two years in Tokyo. Yang, who turns 32 on Jan. 17, marveled at the efficiency of his new teammate’s swing.

“There’s no wasted motion from the start to the finish,” Yang said. “Since I also employ a leg kick, I can learn from him. It doesn’t matter if you are more senior or junior, it’s all about being better.”

“Still, I’m not going to just let him get the better of me.”

Maru’s arrival sparked Yang’s own memories of joining the Giants with their polished public image. Coming to the Giants, with their myriad of rules, can be a hassle. One former Giant said, “They take all the fun out of this.”

“I never thought I’d look at coming to the ballpark as work until I came here.”

The Giants demand a certain kind of demeanor, and punctuality, emplyoing “Giants time” to mean showing up for everything 30 minutes early.

Former Hanshin Tigers reliever Jeff Williams once spoke of Hanshin’s requirement that everyone be 15 minutes early for everything, known “Tigers time.” Unfortunately, players had to decipher which time was being spoken about when being told what time to assemble.

“I’d hear 8:30 and have to ask, is that real time or Tigers time,” he said.

Yang said all the right things about what new Giants face.

“The Giants are team of history. When you put on that uniform, everyone looks up to you and you feel a sense of responsibility. When you move it can seem overwhelming.”



writing & research on Japanese baseball

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