Thank you for 16 years Koshien's 24-year-old top star who put down a heavy load, throws four ⅓ innings for six years as a professional, and his second life (Min Chang-ki's Japanese baseball)
Dec 30, 2024
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Right-hander Gakigi Ren (24), released by the Nippon Ham Fighters, will retire from active duty. On the 29th, he posted on his SNS account that 'About 16 years of baseball career have ended. I would like to thank my parents for allowing me to play baseball for 16 years and those who helped me. It has not been decided what to do in the future, but I look forward to your kind cooperation, he said, announcing his retirement. Kakigi also posted a photo of him pitching for the Nippon Ham team during his middle and high school years.
Kakigi was a member of the prestigious Osaka Doin High School 'Golden Generation'. In the spring of 2017, when I was a second grader, I participated in the Koshien competition and threw it. In the qualifying round for Osaka in the summer tournament, he recorded eight consecutive strikeouts. A second-year pitcher even started the final round of the Koshien, which is difficult to step on. He led the spring and summer Koshien tournaments back-to-back as the ace in 2018. It sprayed a maximum speed of 150 kilometers per hour.
Professional teams paid attention to the Osaka Doin High School 'strongest generation' The four main players became professional players after graduating from high school. Nippon Ham made the fifth pick in the rookie draft held in October 2018. Right-hander Neo Akira joined Chunichi Dragons with one nomination, left-hander Yokogawa Guy with four nominations for the Yomiuri Giants, and outfielder Kyota Fujihara with one nomination for Chiba Lotte Marines.
The professional was on a different level.
After joining the team, he stayed in the second division for more than three years. There was a lot of pressure. In 2020, I came all the way to Ips.
It's been four years since I joined the team. Finally made his debut in the first team. In June 2022, he pitched one inning in the seventh inning of an interleague game against the Chunichi Dragons. He pitched in four games and played four ⅔ innings that year. He gave up two hits, including one home run, and allowed one run. This is the final result left by Kakigi with an ERA of 2.08 in the first team without winning or losing in four games.
In 2022, when he made his debut in the first team, he was notified of out-of-competence after the end of the season that year. The club is not an official player, but yuk
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Since then, he has not received a first-team call. By the end of July 2023, he had played in 27 games in the second division with a 3-1 record and a 2.12 ERA. I became a professional player and was in the best condition. Expectations were high, but he couldn't escape his status as a nurturing player.
He signed his second training contract at the end of 2023. There were injuries this year. At the end of the season, a release notice flew in. He `did his best day by day so as not to leave any regrets." His team, Nippon Ham, has jumped to second place in the Pacific League this season. For the second year in a row, he threw off the last-place bridle.
I was aiming for the last chance. He participated in a joint tryout by 12 Japanese professional baseball teams held on the 14th of last month. He handled the two batters perfectly. However, there was no offer to join the team.
The Japanese Independent League, Social League, and Taiwanese League teams have offered to join. About 10 teams contacted me, he said. He must have wanted to try again, but he looked back with a cool head. "I did my best in a good environment for the second professional team for two years, but I couldn't become an official player. I'm well aware of my situation right now." He said he would look for a second life, not baseball.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
