Yuki Yanagita put on a power show on Friday. In this video Yanagita is facing the Hanshin Tigers’ Randy Messenger and hits it well back into the seats in left for an opposite-field homer.
While he didn’t get all of that one, he did get all of this 149-kilometer fastball from Rafael Dolis.
Yanagita, the 2015 Pacific League MVP, has yet to fully recover from shoulder surgery he had after last year’s Japan Series but his home runs did more than just dent a couple of seats. They also left an impression on Hawks chairman Sadaharu Oh, who hit a record 868 in his career.
“That was something,” Oh said. “There’s a lot of value in hitting home runs that amaze the fans.”