[Playback 2025, Yuki Yanagita edition]
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This year, we will be delivering the annual playback project “Taka Warrior That Play” in which Softbank players look back on famous moments from this season on “West Sports WEB OTTO!”. The first episode featured outfielder Yuki Yanagida (37), the face of the team. We looked back at the swing at Koshien that defeated the right-hander, who set a new professional baseball record for consecutive scoreless innings.
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October 30th. Game 5 of the Japan Series (Koshien) against Hanshin, with 3 wins and 1 loss and a shot at becoming the best in Japan for the first time in 5 years. The game progressed with a 0-2 deficit. 8th inning, 1 out and 1st base. Yanagida faced off against Daichi Ishii, who set a new record for professional baseball with no runs allowed in 50 consecutive games. The first pitch is a 150km fastball with a low outside angle and is by no means easy. “It was in the strike zone, so if I made a good swing, I might have a chance.” When a sharp ball in the opposite direction flew into the left field line, the enemy field fell silent. Softbank came back to life with a two-run tie, and after 11 extra innings, they achieved their long-awaited title of No. 1 in Japan.
Yanagita VS Ishii. It was the third match in this series. The result was 3 hits in 3 at bats. “At first, I didn’t know what kind of pitcher he was, so I gradually started to wonder if he was like this.” Little by little, Yanagita cornered the right-hander who had no runs, and finally sank him with a full swing.
The first match will be on October 25th (Mizuho PayPay Dome). They were in a corner with one point behind and two outs in the ninth inning. After two balls and two strikes, he delivered the sixth pitch 152 km straight to the center of the field. “I thought my batting was a little good. (On the fifth pitch) I hit a foul ball straight down the inside course to the right field line, and it seemed like the ball was a little off, but I was able to react to it. (The bat) was also resting on the fork, so I thought my reaction to the ball was pretty good. I want to maintain that until the No. 1 in Japan is decided.” Although he failed to take advantage of subsequent chances and lost the first game, Yanagida, a multi-hitting player, still showed solid results.
The second match will be the 4th match (Koshien) on the 29th. With a one-run lead and two outs in the 9th inning, he hit a 149km straight to center field. “It was a high pitched ball, but being able to carry it while getting stuck gave me confidence.” In the 8th inning, the lead was down to 1 point, and the previous two batters had struck out Ishii in a row, but it was a valuable hit that stopped the “flow” that was about to be handed to the opponent.
Then, in the opening scene, they faced off for the third time. Yanagida had 2 hits in 2 at bats against Ishii, so did he have a mental advantage? “No, no, that’s not the case. It doesn’t really matter what the previous matches were, just because I was able to hit the ball doesn’t mean I’ll be able to hit the next one,” he flatly denied. “In that situation, I knew I wanted to take a full swing,” he said.
Chasing 2 points in the final stages, the runner was on first base. Against a right-handed man who is difficult to hit repeatedly, Yanagida was thinking of “long hits.” And the trigger from his previous turn at bat was also added. “In my previous at-bat (with two outs in the 6th inning), I hit a hit to left field. In my opinion, that made me feel a little better. I played against Otake (Kotaro) and got one grounder and two grounders, but then I hit a hit to left field and thought, “Ah, that’s good.” That correction stayed the same.”
Yanagita, who had a feel for the ball, used his vast experience and outstanding technique to land the first pitch. “It was great. After that, the pitcher held us back, and Isamu (Nomura) hit the (final) home run in the 11th inning, so I was really glad I hit it too. Even if we had caught up there, if we had lost, I would have thought, “Wouldn’t it have been better to hit the ball?” But I think it was a great game because the whole team came from behind to win the game.” Although he lost his first match, he won four consecutive wins and became the best in Japan, joining in the celebration.
Just like last season, he was forced to miss a long period of time due to a serious injury during the regular season. No. 1 in Japan since 2020, when he won the Pacific League MVP for the second time. “My career as a professional baseball player was going smoothly, but things gradually started to go awry.Although the season wasn’t great, I was able to win the number one title in Japan for the first time in a while, and I’m glad that I was able to help the team through it all.” Yanagita proved on the big stage that he is still an indispensable part of the team. (Daigo Obata)
