2 bases loaded in 1 game and 1st place run → 30 consecutive home runs '0', a team win rate of 0.706 solo despite poor batting at No. 4, "You can hit it when you're in trouble." managerial ease

Jul 02, 2024

Yamakawa, who had 12 hits in 41 games since the opening game, had no home runs in the next 30 games. While dominating the team's No. 1 ranking, he suffered a lot due to his poor batting performance. Photo capture = Softbank Hawks SNS

Yamakawa, who moved to Softbank from Seibu last winter, hit two grand slams in an away game in Seibu on April 13. After dominating the No. 1 home run for more than two months, he recently gave up the lead to his teammate Kondo. Photo capture = Softbank Hawks SNS

Yamakawa, who hit a home run in a practice game with Hanshin as a member of the WBC Japan national team last year. Photo capture = Japanese baseball team homepage

Softbank Hawks No. 4 hitter Hotaka Yamakawa (33) hit two home runs against the Seibu Lions on April 13. He hit his second and third home runs of the season in succession in the sixth and eighth innings. But both of these home runs were grand slams. It was the second consecutive grand slam in Japanese professional baseball history. Tokoroza and Bernadome (Seibu Dome), Saitama Prefecture, where the game was held, are as familiar to Yamakawa as their home turf. He joined Seibu in 2014 as a two-time rookie and played for 10 years until last year. As a member of Seibu, he became the home run king three times in 2018-2019 and 2022. All three times, he hit more than 40 home runs. He was a home run hitter representing the Pacific League.

Time stopped for a while last year. Yamakawa, the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) winner, had his worst season last year. A weekly magazine has revealed that it has been investigated for sexual assault. The club excluded the main hitter from the first division. He finished the season with 15 hits and 5 RBIs in 17 games without a home run.

Yamakawa, who became an FA (free agent), moved to Softbank without looking back. It signed a four-year contract of 1.2 billion yen. Softbank decided to recruit the team despite criticism from some fans to strengthen its offense. It would have been difficult for Seibu to stay because he has been passive in signing an internal special FA contract. Rakuten's flagship hitter Hideto Asamura (34), Orix Buffaloes' main hitter Tomoya (29), and Hiroshima Carp's Shogo Akiyama (36), who returned from the Major League, are from Seibu.

Yamakawa, who was reborn as the fourth batter of Softbank, has been active since the beginning of the season. Kensuke Kondo (31), who joined the Nippon Ham Fighters first this year, and Yuki Yanagita (36), a veteran, led the attack by forming the strongest center line between 3 and 5.

Last year's home run-run king, Kondo, will continue his strong performance this year. He ranks first in batting average and home runs and second in RBIs. It was followed by Yamakawa, the No. 1 RBI, by two. Photo capture = Softbank Hawks SNS

Softbank veteran hitter Yanagita played a strong role in the beginning of the season with Yamakawa and Kondo, but has been out of the team due to injury since June. Photo capture = Softbank Hawks SNS

As of the 1st, 48 wins, 3 draws, and 20 losses, with a winning rate of 706 ri. Softbank is dominating with the highest winning rate among the 12 teams in both leagues. There are no teams with a winning rate of 70 percent and no teams with a winning rate of 60 percent. It ranks first in the Pacific League, 11.5 games ahead of the Chiba Lotte Marines.

Yamakawa can't raise his head while his team runs fast.

An away game against Nippon Ham at Econ Field in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, on June 30. Yamakawa hit a double in his second at-bat in the fourth inning. One hit, one walk, and one strikeout in three at-bats. Softbank, which had 17 hits, won the game 10-3.

It is positive that he hit a double for two consecutive days, but the fourth batter did not have a home run in 30 consecutive games. He hit his 12th home run against the Rakuten Eagles on May 22 and fell into deep silence.

17 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses in June, and a winning rate of 70.73 percent. This is the result of Softbank's performance last month. Yamakawa played in all 23 games during this period and posted a batting average of 182-16 hits-4 RBIs without a home run. The on-base percentage was 0.258 and the slugging percentage was 0.239. The batting average for the season fell to 2209.

Softbank boasts the strongest power in both leagues this season. In 23 games held in June, he had 17 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses and a winning rate of 70.73. Photo capture = Softbank Hawks SNS

Super Powerful 'To GoTaser' season. As if laughing at the flow, he hit 12 home runs in 41 games from the opening game. It boasted overwhelming power. However, the poor batting performance is unusual. He dominated the first place in home runs and RBIs with a big gap, but he caught up.

Teammate Gondo hit his 12th and 13th home runs against Nippon Ham on June 28-29. He beat Yamakawa to become the No. 1 home run player. Kondo had five RBIs in three consecutive weekend games against Nippon Ham last weekend. He scored 47 RBIs, making him two gaps with Yamakawa, the top-ranked player in the category.

When Yamakawa was struggling, Kondo was excited. He had a batting average of 413-31 hits, seven home runs and 23 RBIs for the month of June. The on-base plus slugging ratio (OPS) is 1.290. Yamakawa said in a media interview, `I wish I could hit it consistently like Kondo, but it's hard.'

Coach Hiroki Kokubo encouraged Yamakawa about his poor performance, saying, `As the fourth batter, you can hit him when the team is in trouble.' If the team's performance is not good, we will consider adjusting the batting order, but it doesn't seem to happen for the time being. Softbank ranks first in both leagues with a team batting average (2601) and a score (316 points).