sports
Japanese Slugger Rintaro Sasaki Signs With Marlins, Skips NPB Career
Rintaro Sasaki will sign with the Miami Marlins after the team selected him in the eighth round of the MLB draft. He had also been chosen in the first round of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball draft.
Jul 19, 2:18 PM·1m read2 sources
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Japanese slugger Rintaro Sasaki will sign with the Miami Marlins and forgo a professional career in Japan. The Marlins selected Sasaki out of Stanford in the eighth round of Major League Baseball's amateur draft last week. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks also selected him in the first round of the Nippon Professional Baseball draft.
Sasaki fought back tears while announcing the decision during a news conference in his hometown of Hanamaki, Japan, on Sunday. "More than anyone else, I believe I understand my own limitations and how much I still need to improve," Sasaki said. " Sasaki is Japan's all-time high school home run leader with 140 homers.
He opted out of the Nippon league's draft after high school to attend Stanford. 262 with 16 homers and 47 RBIs as a sophomore last year. "Ever since I chose to attend Stanford, I have always had a strong desire to challenge myself in the United States," Sasaki said.
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CorroborationModerate · 2 sources
