The Softbank Hawks opened the ‘four-team era’ for the first time in Japanese professional baseball. Even a 16-year-old foreign batter began to operate a long-term plan by nurturing him in the 4th group game.
Japanese media outlets such as ‘Sports Hochi’ reported on the 3rd that the Softbank 4th Army lost 2-5 to the Miyazaki Sunshines, a new team in the independent league, in an exchange match held at Dama Home Stadium in Chikugo City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Independent league teams are also of a high level in Japan, so Softbank’s 4th division is struggling. 2 wins and 3 losses in 5 matches so far. 먹튀검증
In the game against Sunshine that day, 9 out of 10 players in the starting lineup, including the pitcher, were foster players. José Osuna, an outfielder from the Dominican Republic who came out as a pinch hitter in the 6th inning and reached base with an infield hit in pitching class, was born in 2007 and is only 16 years old.
Outfielder Osuna with uniform number 173 is 185cm tall and weighs 82kg, already in an adult physique. Softbank, which saw his growth potential, signed a contract with Osuna as a foster player. At a press conference on January 23, Osuna said, “The Japanese professional baseball training system is very good. I thought I had a chance to grow and become a better player.” After that, I want to continue to increase the number of home runs and change the Japanese professional baseball record in the future.”
Softbank, which created the first 4 divisions among 12 Japanese professional baseball teams, currently has a total of 121 players, including 67 official players and 54 foster players. 140 games for the 3rd division and 80 games for the 4th division are scheduled, and independent leagues and university teams are mainly match partners.
In 2010, Softbank introduced the first three-tier system in Japan. Pitcher Kodai Senga (New York Mets), whose first-generation member at the time became the winning pitcher in his major league debut on the 3rd, catcher Takuya Kai, member of the Japanese national team’s WBC championship, and infield utility Taisei Makihara, were fostered by the Softbank 3rd team. They are the main members who led the team’s heyday in the 2010s with Shinhwa.
Sports Hochi said, ‘Softbank has 12 official players from foster players, the most among the 12 clubs. In order to further develop this, a 4-group system was introduced. As for the player development environment, one coordinator is assigned to each pitcher and fielder, as well as the existing manager and coach, and they are nurtured according to a unified development policy.” .
The 4th group first builds the basics of stamina and skills for high school graduates who have not yet formed their bodies. As there are too many players in the 3rd team, not all players can play in the game, so more players can gain practical experience or adjust their senses through 2-3 games a week in the 4th team.
Hiroshi Ogawa, the Softbank 4th team coach who took over as the 3rd team coach 12 years ago and laid the foundation for development, said, “Kai has a hungry spirit and Makihara has great athletic ability. Senga felt weak at first because he had no stamina, but he gradually gained more stamina and gained confidence,” recalling the players he raised in the 3rd team system and saying, “At that time, I started from zero, but now the facilities are better than then.” The military also foreshadowed the training myth. /waw@osen.co.kr