September 12, 2023 11:00 Chunichi Hosokawa Seiya (Photo taken on July 11, 2023)
Chunichi outfielder Seiya Hosokawa (25) is hitting a career high.
As of September 11th, he has a batting average of .272, 21 home runs, and 72 RBIs. At Chunichi, he became the first Japanese player to hit 20 home runs since 2010 (37 home runs for Kazuhiro Wada, 22 home runs for Masahiko Morino), leading the batting lineup with the most arches on the team. Although he was unable to establish himself as a regular at DeNA, where he has been for six years, he has already reached regular at-bats this season. He is the embodiment of a Cinderella boy since he was an active draft pick starting last off-season.
Hosokawa has a routine before he takes his turn at bat. They matched their stances on the third base line and took a practice swing. When he enters the batter’s box, he jumps twice before facing the pitcher. At first, he thought it was a way to adjust his center of gravity at the plate, but he said, “It’s just to relax. I’ve been doing it since before I turned professional.” The routine from his childhood is still alive today.
Under the guidance of batting coach Wada, who achieved a total of 2,000 hits with Chunichi after transferring from Seibu, Hosokawa’s batting skills blossomed. He is often assigned the No. 4 position along with Kou Ishikawa. Coach Tatsunami said, “It’s not that I don’t know if I want to hit or hit, but I need to think about the situation a little more.When I have a chance, I need to be a little more relaxed.If I just want to hit and swing hard, I’ll get hit. I want them to do this as a challenge.” Commanders, including Takashi Ishikawa, expect more from the Japanese-made cannon than just numbers.
There are 18 games left this season. I want to keep a close eye on how the slugger who carries the strong batting lineup of Reiwa will break out of his skin.[Chunichi representative Daisuke Ito]
Hosokawa (right) exchanging words with batting coach Wada in July. This column includes back issues.
2023-09-12 14:29:44
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