Japanese Baseball Star Rintaro Sasaki Chooses MLB over NPB
As one of Japan’s most famous nonprofessional baseball players and home run record holders, it may seem that Rintaro Sasaki’s future is set and perfectly aligned. His father, Hiroshi, even coaches his sport!
In reality, however, he has to choose between three different paths, all of which can benefit him in their own ways. He can either: 1. go back to Japan to join Nippon Professional Baseball, an organization equivalent to Major League Baseball (MLB) in the US, 2. sign with MLB and go pro in the US, or 3. go back to Stanford and improve on his .262/.403/.549 line (.262 means he gets to hit the ball 26.2% of the time, .403 represents how often he reaches home base, over 0.400 is pro, and .549 reflects his overall power, where higher numbers mean more extra-base hits, hits that allow him to reach second base or further safely).
In the end, he has chosen to go back to the US and continue his path as a Stanford student athlete, receiving his college education–but only temporarily. He later reflected on his decision, saying it was definitely the right choice: “For me, this is the best way,” Sasaki said. Sasaki explained that because he’s never gone to another country before, he didn’t speak any English until now. Despite this, Dave Esquer, Standford’s head coach, expressed his admiration and respect for Sasaki. “I don’t know if many people could handle all the different attention he’s gotten and expectations and still stay grounded and become a good teammate and better himself as a player,” he said.
Unfortunately for Sasaki, his career is still getting held back due to his longing to stay in Japan. Before Sasaki joined the Cardinals, Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in Japan had already offered him a spot in their lineup. Masayoshi Son, the owner of the Hawks, argued that in order for the NPB to be equal to MLB, Japanese players need to stay in Japan. “We want to become a team that all baseball players want to play for,” Son told Japanese reporters. “And one day, we will have a true World Series between the MLB champion and the NPB champion.”
A reason why Sasaki didn’t choose to join the Hawks was because they didn’t guarantee that he could leave the team before he turned 30. This meant he would return to the US as one of the older players, leaving his “prime years” behind. Nevertheless, his coaches are confident he can succeed, and will always support him while he does. “We’re here for him,” Esquer said. “If that were to come to pass, where coming back to Stanford was his best option — absolutely, with open arms we would do that. … If he’s a junior with 20-plus home runs, that’s gonna be pretty exciting for somebody to feel like he’s closer to being a big leaguer.”