Yosuke Masago (29), an outfielder who played for the Softbank Hawks of the Japanese professional baseball team, will participate in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The Japanese national team is not.
Japanese media such as ‘West Nippon Sports’ reported on the 8th that Masago would participate in the WBC as a Chinese representative.
Masago was selected by Softbank in the 2013 draft and walked the path of a professional player. At the time of his joining, he was affectionately called ‘Mi-Gita (right Yana-Gita)’ in recognition of his potential.
In the 2016 U-23 World Cup, he participated in the Japanese national team and contributed to the team’s victory. In the second league match against Korea, he hit a solo home run to tie the game. 온라인카지노
However, his professional career was not smooth. He played 180 games in 6 seasons in the first team of Japanese professional baseball, leaving a batting average of 0.219, an on-base percentage of 0.270 and a slugging percentage of 0.310.
Having played for Softbank until last season, he plans to play for Hitachi, a professional baseball team in the 2023 season.
Born and raised in Japan, he was able to play for the Chinese national team because his father is a Chinese national. The WBC allows the nationality of the athlete’s grandparents to participate even if the nationality of the athlete is different.
It seems that his presence will be greatly felt in the Chinese national team, which is considered weak. Kansai Sports introduced that Masago is being discussed as a candidate for the number 4 hitter in the Chinese national team.
The Chinese national team is also scheduled to join the right-handed bullpen Ju Kwon from kt Wiz in the KBO League.
China PR will face Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic in Group B qualifiers held at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.