14 home runs and 50 RBIs → 21 home runs and 88 RBIs, half of his salary was cut and transferred to the fourth batter, and Chiba Lotte Soto, the eighth season in the NPB next year (Min Chang-ki's Japanese baseball)
Oct 24, 2024
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Soto said "I'm really happy to be back at Chiba Lotte next year. I will do my best with my teammates to win the championship, which I unfortunately did not achieve this year."
Chiba Lotte finished third in the Pacific League this year. He reached the climax series for three consecutive years. The fall baseball ended short. It was blocked by the second-ranked Nippon Ham Fighters in the first stage (best-of-two). After winning 2-0 in the first game, he lost two consecutive games. In the second game, he suffered a walk-off loss in the bottom of the 10th inning of extra time, and in the third game, he led 2-0 and lost 5-2.
Soto, whose batting pace fell, was sluggish. He went 0 for 10 in three first-stage games. Chiba Lotte and Soto, the fourth batter, also swallowed their disappointment.
In his first year of moving from the Central League, he showed his presence as a key hitter. He played in 132 games with a batting average of 269, 132 hits, 21 home runs, 88 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.780. Led the team offense with Gregory Polanco, who moved from the Yomiuri Giants in 2023.
He was strong with the runner in the scoring position. He has a batting average of 321. He ranked second in RBIs after Hotaka Yamakawa of the Softbank Hawks. He ranked third in the batting average, fourth in homers, and eighth in hits. He was the best hitter at Chiba Lotte this season.
Soto, who made his debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2013, played two seasons in the major leagues and played in 34 games. Mainly stayed in the minor leagues. He left his short major league career behind in 2018 and entered Japan and blossomed.
He immediately adapted to the new league and burst his potential. He hit a batting average of 310-95 RBIs-41 home runs in 2018 and 269-43 home runs-108 RBIs in 2019. For the second consecutive year, he has won two home runs and RBIs. From 2018 to 2021, he exceeded 20 home runs for four consecutive years.
According to the performance, the annual salary also increased significantly. It started at 35 million yen (320 million yen) in the first year and rose to 325 million yen in 2023. It jumped tenfold.
It has slowed down since 2022, the fifth year of joining the team. He had 17 home runs and 49 RBIs that year and 14 home runs and 50 RBIs in 2023. Last year's batting average fell to 23.4 percent. Yokohama calls him "free meter"
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He left Yokohama and made a fresh start at Chiba Lotte. The annual salary fell from 325 million yen (2.94 billion won) to 150 million yen (1.35 billion yen). As a result, changing the environment led to success.
'Japan Dream' continues.
huelva@sportschosun.com
