This is the story of SSG Landers’ substitute foreign player Keisho Shirakawa (23). For a Japanese independent league player to suddenly become a foreign player in the KBO and earn his first win in his first appearance in the first team, it took quick action and help from many people.
On May 18, the Tokushima Indigo Sox of the Shikoku Island League Plus faced off against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks’ third team.
SSG International Scouting Project Leader Jin Sang-bong watched the game. After watching Shirakawa on video, SSG signed him three days later on the 21st.
The reason SSG made such a quick decision, even if it was to fill the void left by the injured Roenis Elias, was that they had information that other KBO clubs were also visiting Tokushima. Shirakawa pitched for Tokushima as a middle reliever in a game on the 24th, and arrived in South Korea the next day.
Despite the distance between Tokushima and Korea, there are no direct flights, so Shirakawa had to change planes to get to Korea. 카지노사이트 It was also Shirakawa’s first time going abroad. Officials moved quickly to expedite his passport and obtain a work visa.
Life in Korea was an unfamiliar environment for Shirakawa.
But he had many people to thank at SSG.
Battery coach Fumihiro Suzuki is close to Tokushima coach Tetsuji Okamoto, who used to play for Shirakawa’s team. Okamoto had been an instructor at SSG’s predecessor club, SK Wyverns.
Defensive coach Masato Watanabe had been a manager in the independent league, so it was easy for him to understand what kind of environment Shirakawa had been playing baseball in. Watanabe was in charge of the Futures and was promoted to the first team on May 10th. Having the three Japanese in one place also helped Shirakawa, as it made it easier to operate with two interpreters.Shirakawa’s biggest helpers are left-handed pitcher Hanu Sol, 27. A former member of Japan’s unemployment team, he is a Japanese speaker. Soon after Shirakawa joined the team, they had dinner at a sashimi restaurant in downtown Incheon. “To send him home, I called a taxi using an app, and of course it automatically paid for me, and he was confused that he didn’t have to pay when he got out of the taxi,” says Hanusol. For Shirakawa, everything that happens in Korea is a fresh surprise.
As a pitcher, he feels the difference, too. The mounds at local stadiums in Japan’s independent leagues are soft with large holes.
The mounds in professional stadiums, on the other hand, are hard. Unlike in Korea, where new balls are used right away, in Japan, 실시간 바카라사이트 officials and umpires apply mud before each game. “(The KBO) is slippery,” Shirakawa said, explaining his first impression of the KBO ball.
Shirakawa recorded his first win on June 1 and his first loss on June 7.
His time in Korea will come to an end in mid-July, if SSG decides to give him the shortest possible time to return.
If Shirakawa’s “dramatic two weeks” turn into a “happy six weeks,” the team will be happy.
The Japanese young man’s life in Korea is full of ups and downs. People around him rolled up their sleeves to help him create happy memories.