Munetaka Murakami (23, Yakult Swallows) and Hotaka Yamakawa (32, Seibu Lions), the “home run kings” of both leagues who were not in good batting condition, hit a home run in the final evaluation match. Although the sense of impact has not completely improved, it has created a turning point in the atmosphere anyway. However, there is a player who goes to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) with a batting average of ‘0’ during practice matches and evaluation matches. This is Tetsuto Yamada (31), the starting second baseman of the Japan national team.

Yamada faced off the bench in the final evaluation game against the Orix Buffaloes on the 7th. Instead of Yamada, Shugo Maki (25, Yokohama Baystars) started the game. Yamada, who appeared as a pinch hitter in the 8th batting order in the 7th inning, was out with a shortstop ground ball.

In 5 practice games, he went 14 at bats in 16 at-bats and had no hits. On the 17th of last month, from the time he joined the Miyazaki national team training camp, he did not feel good at hitting. He hasn’t come up on hitting pace for close to 3 weeks.

Yamada is a veteran who has been active as a key player in the Japanese national team. Following 2017, this is his second WBC appearance. He represented Japan at Premier 12 in 2015 and 2019, and Tokyo Olympics in 2020. 오락실 토토

He holds the record for the most hits by a Japanese right-handed hitter in a single season, and won both the home run king and steal king titles for the first time in Japanese professional baseball history. It slowed down last season. He had a batting average of 2.4 and 3, with 23 home runs and 65 RBI.

Up-and-coming infielder Maki is attracting attention, but Yamada is the second baseman on the Japan national team. In an interview on the 8th, the day before the WBC 1st round match against China, he said, “I don’t have much anxiety, but I do have fear. I want to get results no matter what.”

Although the hitting feeling is not good, it is likely to start as the 7th and 2nd baseman in the first WBC game. Even the best veteran players can fall into a slump in baseball.