"I really hope to win." Son Jeong-ui advanced to the Japan Series for three consecutive wins in front of owner Son Jeong-ui, three home runs for 14.6 billion batters, four hits for 14.6 billion batters, and a solid investment performance
"I really hope to win." Son Jeong-ui advanced to the Japan Series for three consecutive wins in front of owner Son Jeong-ui, three home runs for 14.6 billion batters, four hits for 14.6 billion batters, and a solid investment performance
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The Softbank Hawks, the winner of this season's Pacific League, have advanced to the Japan Series for the first time in four years. They beat the Nippon-Ham Fighters for three consecutive years in the Climax Series Final Stage (best-of-four games). They started the season with one win in the league's No. 1 advantage, and passed the Climax Series with all wins. As the team with the highest winning percentage (0.650) in both leagues, they did not allow an upset. It is the first Japan Series in four years since 2020.메이저놀이터
At the third round held at the Fukuoka Dome on Saturday, the main guns led the team to a 3-2 victory with a hard hit.
In the bottom of the first inning, Hotaka Yamakawa hit a timely double that separated the right-center field. He had RBI in three consecutive games in the final stage. With two outs and a runner on the second base, Kensuke Kondo of the fifth hit a timely double that fell to the right wing. 2-0.
Yamakawa, who became the homerun and RBI king in the first year of his transfer, had fun in fall as well. Yamakawa had two hits and two RBIs including a homer in the first game on Saturday, and three hits and three RBIs including two homers in the second game on Sunday. Three homers, six hits and six RBIs in three games.
In the bottom of the fourth inning with the score tied 2-2, leadoff hitter No. 5 Kondo opened the scoring with a right-handed hit. With runners on the first and third bases with two outs, No. 9 Shuto Ukyo hit a left-handed hit, breaking the balance. With the ball count of 1B, he hit a high-course changeup thrown by Nippon Ham left-hander Sakya to lead the team to the final hit.
A total of 40,142 spectators who filled the Fukuoka Dome watched the scene. "We sincerely hope to win the (Japan Series)," Softbank owner Son Jeong-ui said after the match.
In the second year after moving to Softbank, Kondo had four hits in the sixth and eighth innings on the day. After being out of the lineup in the second half of this season due to an injury to his right ankle, he came back as the top hitter. Kondo, who became the home run-run RBI champion last year, became the batting champion (31.14 percent) for the first time this year in his 13th year as a professional. He is the only hitter with a batting average of .300 in the Pacific League. "I'm glad that I came back when I had a hard time due to my injury," said Son Jeong-ui, the owner of the team.
He led the team in all three games, leading the team to victory. The team secured a five-to-two victory in the first round and a seven-to-two victory in the second round. First-round pick Kohei Arihara gave up two runs in seven innings, while second-round pick Livan Moinello gave up two runs in six innings. He beat the Nippon-Ham team perfectly in pitching and hitting.
After returning from the Major League last year, Arihara made the most wins (14 wins) this year. Monello ranked first in ERA (1.88). He is the only one in the Pacific League to finish the season with one earned run average.
Aggressive investment has paid off.
Yamakawa moved from the Seibu Lions last winter. Kondo moved from Nippon Ham after the 2022 season. Yamakawa signed an FA contract for four years to 1.6 billion yen (14.6 billion won), and Kondo for six years to four billion yen (36.64 billion won). Yamakawa has been a homerun king three times for Seibu, and Kondo for Nippon Ham three times ranked No. 1 in on-base percentage. These were proven free agents.
Having started his career at Nippon Ham, Arihara bowed out to the U.S. for three years. In 2023, he joined Softbank, not Nippon Ham, in exchange for a three-year deal of 1.2 billion yen (approximately 11 billion won). He proved his worth by winning 10 games in the first year of his transfer and winning multiple titles in the second year.
Monello, a Cuban left-hander, grew into a top pitcher after joining the team as a nurturing player in 2017. He pitched mid-range until last year, but switched to starting this year to post 11 wins. He led the Softbank starting lineup with Arihara in one-two punch.
Monello said, "This is the last year of my three-year-900 million yen contract. Early this year, he agreed to a four-year-to-four billion yen contract starting next year. This is the highest annual salary in the Japanese pro baseball league. Other teams are making tremendous investments.
Softbank has won the Japan Series seven times in 11 years since 2010. It is the strongest team that won the Japan Series four times in a row between 2017 and 2020. For the next three years, "Super A"
Kondo, who has led the centerline of Softbank along with Yamaka, had four hits in the third round of the Final Stage on Wednesday. Photo capture = Softbank Hawks SNS
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