Yasushi Sasaki (Aoyama Gakuin University) was selected first by the Hiroshima Carp at the professional baseball draft meeting. RCC has been following Sasaki since he was a sophomore in college. “Why does the ball fly so far?” Director Takahiro Arai also delved into the secrets of this talented talent.

Yasushi Sasaki is a slugger with a powerful swing created from his strong body. Armed with the ball-hitting techniques and full swing that he has studied since high school, he aims to become the “home run king” in the professional world.

Draft No. 1 Yasushi Sasaki(Aoyama Gakuin University)
“I’ve been working on swinging really strongly since high school, so I still want to swing really strongly, and that hasn’t changed. So I wonder if that’s the kind of swing he makes.”

University Japan National Team Selection Camp 2022

Sasaki was in the best nine of the Toto University League (batting average of .371, 4 HR) in the spring of his first year at university, and from his second year he was selected as a candidate for the Japan collegiate national team, setting him on an elite path in the university baseball world.

However, at that time Yasushi Sasaki was still slender and felt that he was lacking.

Yasushi Sasaki player

“I’ve been doing weight training since the beginning of university, but it wasn’t until my second year that I put a lot of effort into it that I realized, “I really can’t keep going like this. I’m not going to go pro.” …At that time, at the end of my second year, I was practicing independently with a senior two years older than me, and (Nishikawa) Shijo was also practicing with a senior two years older than me, and we both had partners. We decided to do it together when we were running out of weight. From there, we really increased the amount of training we did and started doing a lot of weight lifting.”

Studied at Aoyama Gakuin University with Yasushi Sasaki. In this draft, Fumiyo Nishikawa was selected in first place by Lotte and Orix. From the winter of his second year, Sasaki became a partner in independent practice with Nishikawa, who at the time had not yet become a regular player.

Sasaki’s weight has increased from 77 kg to 82 kg. They stimulate each other and develop strong bodies. Behind this body building was the result of “food training,” in which students competed with each other to see how much they ate.