30 home runs disappear due to super strength 'thugotazer', 'Monster'10th consecutive game of Murakami - 27 consecutive games of Yamakawa, 14-12 home runs in front of the halfway point and No. 1 in home runs

Jun 28, 2024

Okamoto hit his 13th three-run home run of the season in the eighth inning against Yokohama on the 27th. It was his 200th home run as the fourth batter of the Yomiuri Giants. He hit 41 games last year to become the third home run king, and he is competing with Murakami again this year. Photo capture =Miuri Giants SNS

Okamoto, who followed Murakami, the No. 1 home run, by one point. He hit a tiebreaking three-run home run in the eighth inning against Yokohama on the 27th, but the team shook its head after a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Photo capture =Miuri Giants SNS

Murakami, the top home run player in the Central League, hit his 14th home run and remained silent for 10 games. Photo capture = Yakult Swallows SNS

Kazuma Okamoto (28) of the Yomiuri Giants hit his 13th home run of the season on the 27th. He played as a fourth-third baseman against the Yokohama BayStars at Yokohama Stadium and hit a three-run home run in his fourth at-bat in the top of the eighth inning. Opponent right-hander Rowan Wick's 153km/h fast ball from 1B1S drove to the center. He hit this ball without spilling it and flew it over the left fence of Yokohama Stadium. A tiebreaking home run that made it 4-4 from 1-4. On the 16th, he hit his 12th in the match against the Nippon Ham Fighters in the Interleague (exchange match) and activated his cannon in five games.

It is a meaningful 'one shot 'one shot ' It was his 219th career home run he hit at the age of 27 years and 11 months after joining as a first name in 2015, and his 200th home run as a fourth batter. He hit 200 home runs for the fourth time after Sadaharu Oh (Wang Jeong-gi, 392), Shigeo Nagashima (314), and Tatsunori Hara (255). Lee Seung-yeop is ranked 10th with 57 home runs as Yomiuri's No. 4.

In the overall Japanese professional baseball league, Kazuhiro Kiyohara (26 years and 11 months) of the Seibu Lions and Jang Hoon (27 years and 3 months) of the Doei Flyers (former Nippon Ham) became the third youngest player to hit 200 home runs.

Okamoto started as No. 4 since 2018, when he was in his fourth year of joining the team. He hit 24 home runs in his first year and hit 30 in 2019, 31 in 2020, 39 in 2021, 22 in 2022, 41 in 2023, and 13 this year.

On this day, Okamoto couldn't laugh until the end. Yomiuri hit a walk-off home run by Toshiro Miyazaki in the bottom of the 10th inning when the score was tied 4-4. He saved 'Hope' with a home run and tasted despair with 'Home Run' After suffering an overtime loss, the Yomiuri Giants fell from second place in the Central League to fourth place.

The competition for the home run king flows into the competition between Okamoto and Yakult Swallows 'Monetaka Murakami (24) and the two players. Okamoto followed first place Murakami by one. Domingo Santana (Yakurt, 11) and Seiya Hosokawa (Chunichi Dragons, 9) are following the two, but they are behind in power.

Okamoto and Murakami shared the home run title for four years from 2020 to last year. 2020년 오카모토(31개)가 1위,

Murakami (left) and Okamoto, who played for WBC Japan in March last year. The third baseman is the main position, but Okamoto played as the first baseman behind his junior Murakami. Photo capture = Japanese baseball team homepage

Yamakawa moved to Softbank from Seibu last winter. He hit 40 home runs three times. It ranks first in this category with 12 home runs in the first year of the transfer, but the silence has been prolonged recently. He played for Japan at the WBC last year. Photo capture = Japanese baseball team website.

In 2021, Okamoto and Murakami tied for first place (39). The main character of 2022 was Murakami. He hit 56 home runs, setting a single-season record for Japanese batters beyond Sadaharu Oh. Last year, Okamoto hit 41 to win the title for the third time. In his ninth year of joining the club, he exceeded 40 for the first time. Murakami followed Okamoto with 31. Last year, only the two exceeded 30 home runs in both leagues.

Okamoto hit 30 home runs for six consecutive years since 2018, and Murakami has exceeded 30 home runs for three consecutive years since 2021.

However, this year, I think there may be a home run king in his 20s. Both players have the ability to drive, but if you look at the current pace, that's right. In 2024, when the superpower 'Tugotazer' hit, both Okamoto and Murakami are struggling.

Murakami, who announced his return to the three-time batting average, home run, and RBI title for the first time in two years prior to the opening, has a batting average of 230. He has been sluggish since the beginning of the season and played in 70 games while adjusting his batting order. At the Hiroshima Carp match on the 27th, he played No. 5, not No. 4. Okamoto is batting .262 as of the 27th.

The Interleague Softbank Hawks away game on the 12th. Murakami hit his 14th three-run homer of the season in the game. The day after striking out four consecutive at-bats, he had a heavy taste of his hands for the first time in seven games and 34 at-bats. He hit a powerful home run with a flying distance of 130 meters and a batting speed of 184 kilometers per hour. He hit this home run and has 44 consecutive at-bats in 10 games.

Softbank's leading hitter Kondo hit 26 home runs last year and his most in a season. Kondo, who became the first home run king, is second in home runs in the Pacific League as of the 27th. He hits 11 to chase Yamakawa, who is in first place, by one. Photo capture = Softbank Hawks SNS

Last year, the Pacific League did not have 30 home runs. Softbank's Kondo Kenske, Chiba Lotte Marines foreign hitter Gregory Polanco, Rakuten Eagles' Asamura, and three players each scored 26 and became the home run king.

This year, the home run pace is worse than last year. As of the 27th, Kondo hit 11, Polanco hit 9, and Asamura hit 6. Softbank's Hotaka Yamagawa is in first place with 12, hitting 11-12 against Rakuten on May 22 and staying silent for the 27th game. He hit 40 home runs three times as Seibu's leading hitter, but it will be difficult to hit 30 this year.

Each team played 67 to 71 games until the 27th. be on the verge of a turning point. The super-strong 'tugotazer' is unlikely to be mitigated.

The improvement in pitching power is the main factor in 'throwers', but there are constant complaints that there is a problem with the repulsion of the official ball. It is argued that 'the ball that does not fly' with less repulsive power intensified 'the Tajer'.

Seibu, the last-place team in the Pacific League, has a team batting average of 201. There have already been two no-hitters this year. It will also be followed by a 'Maddox shutout', which means a shutout within 100 pitches. There are concerns that a decrease in home runs called the "flower of baseball" and a decrease in scoring ability will adversely affect the success of the game.

If you look at the KBO League, which opened a week before Japan, it's the same story in a different world. NC Dinos Matt Davidson hits 24 home runs

Chiba Lotte Polanco. He hit 26 home runs last year, tying for first in home runs. This year, he hit nine by the 27th. Photo capture = Chiba Lotte Marines SNS

Ryeo is in first place. Coincidentally, Davidson played in Japan and came to Korea last year. He hit 19 home runs at the Hiroshima Carp to show off his outstanding power, but his batting average was only 201. This is why he failed to renew his contract with Hiroshima. Before the first half of the year passed, it exceeded the number of home runs hit in Japan last year.

Rojas Jr. (KT Wiz) and Kim Do-young (KIA Tigers) hit 21, and Kang Baek-ho (KT) and Choi Jung (SSG) hit 20. There are five hitters with 20 home runs.

huelva@sportschosun.com