‘Distorted veteran’ Sakamoto WBC can’t run… Immorality Highlights
The Japanese baseball team, which is aiming to regain the top of the WBC (World Baseball Classic), is missing Sakamoto Hayato (35, Yomiuri Giants) from the list.
Major Japanese media outlets, including Daily Sports, reported on the 15th that “Samurai Japan (Japan’s baseball team) has appointed 18 people as WBC representatives.”
On the 6th, Japanese WBC coach Hideki Kuriyama first announced 12 members, including Shohei Otani (LA Angels), Yu Darvish (San Diego Padres), and Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs), among the 30 finalists. The remaining 18 were planned to be announced after a little more review and selection, but as the list of players delivered to each club was revealed through the media, it was virtually announced.
I expected it to some extent, but Sakamoto’s name was omitted.
Some in the Japanese baseball world predicted that “Kuriyama will first announce the 12 members and then look at public opinion before making a final decision on whether to select Sakamoto”, but at present the exclusion is certain. It seems that the judgment that the public opinion that was angry after selecting Sakamoto for the national team can shake the Japanese baseball team seems to be working.
Sakamoto, who was the most prestigious Yomiuri captain in Japanese professional baseball, recorded a batting average of 0.291 (7580 at-bats, 2205 hits), 266 homers, 944 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.817 in 1985 games.
In the outfield, top players such as Masataka Yoshida (Boston), Suzuki, Yuki Yanagita, and Gensuke Kondo (above Softbank) are overflowing, while there are shortstops such as Genda Sosuke (Seibu), but there were many opinions that without Sakamoto, the weight would be lost.
However, what cannot be overlooked is the aspect of morality. The final blow is the excommunication of the abortion species. It is not the first time that Sakamoto has been involved in violence and verbal abuse with women, but this time he was hit by public opinion when it was revealed that he had urged an abortion. It is known that the victim tried to make extreme choices, and the intensity of criticism was even stronger. As a result, the Yomiuri captain’s armband was also put down.
In the past, coach Kuriyama condoned when Sho Nakata (Yomiuri) assaulted his teammate during the Nippon Ham Fighters days, and was criticized. I couldn’t help but be conscious of public opinion watching Kuriyama’s choice sharply in a situation where he had a criminal record. There was no reason to unreasonably select Sakamoto, who was in poor condition last season due to back and knee injuries.카지노사이트
The Korean baseball team also excluded Woo-jin Ahn, the ‘two-crowned pitcher’, from the list because of the issue of school violence. Regarding the decision at the time, some Japanese media outlets said, “Korea removed Ahn Woo-jin due to morality issues. It is a remarkable decision.” In Japan, the issue of morality is becoming a decisive variable that cannot be overlooked any longer.
Japan, which won the WBC championship consecutively in 2006 and 2009, will officially announce the final entry (30 players) at the end of January. Japan was in Group B with Korea, Australia, Czech Republic and China in the 2023 WBC. Destiny’s Korea-Japan match kicks off on March 10 at 7:00 PM at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.