A 19-year-old Stanford phenom is blazing a new trail from Japan to the majors

STANFORD, Calif. — The dugout chatter for intrasquad video games at the Sunken Diamond may be cruel.

The slings and arrows are nonstop when Stanford baseball gamers are pitted towards each other. The guys carrying crimson jerseys shout streams of insults at gamers on the black crew and vice versa. “Whoa, hey, Luke’s got a new stance,” a participant carrying a black jersey yells as freshman catcher Luke Lavin stands upright in the batter’s field, maybe imitating the Chicago Cubs’ Cody Bellinger.

Lavin pops up the subsequent pitch. “Same swing, though!”

But the tone modifications when No. 3 for the black crew, a husky teenager and early enrollee who received’t start his freshman season till subsequent yr, steps in the field. The good-natured ribbing offers approach to full-throated encouragement from each side. Let’s go Rintaro! C’mon Rintaro! Give it a trip, Rintaro!

“We still can’t believe he’s here,” infielder Jimmy Nati stated. “We’re all fanboying him, for sure.”

Rintaro Sasaki is not the typical Stanford baseball recruit. Back residence in Japan, he is a nationwide celeb, immediately recognizable nearly wherever he goes. Last yr, Sasaki was the top-rated highschool participant in a nation the place highschool baseball is a nationwide obsession. The left-handed slugger was projected to be the most coveted title in final October’s Nippon Professional Baseball draft. He mashed a nationwide file 140 residence runs, with twice as many walks as strikeouts, for Hanamaki-Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture, the similar college that produced Los Angeles Dodgers celebrity Shohei Ohtani and Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. Sasaki’s father, Hiroshi, coached all of them and is a legendary determine in his personal proper.

When Rintaro graduated from highschool this previous March, tv stations dispatched greater than 30 digital camera crews to cowl the occasion.

It can be a final glimpse. Sasaki introduced a few weeks prior to the NPB draft that he wouldn’t register for it. Instead, he would blaze a trail and play collegiate ball in the United States — a almost unprecedented path that would fast-track him to Major League Baseball as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2026.

In February, Sasaki shocked Stanford coach David Esquer and recruiting coordinator Thomas Eager when he requested a Zoom name with them, requested a few logistical questions, then instructed them that he was choosing the Cardinal over Cal, UCLA, and Vanderbilt.

Sasaki arrived on campus at the starting of April, moved into a dorm room and enrolled in three courses as a pre-freshman. He can take part in all crew actions besides enjoying in video games. He practices and works out along with his new teammates. On sport days, he fits up, cheers them on from the dugout and eagerly takes half in all the pregame traditions. He’s gone on highway journeys to Utah and Oregon State. He’s shocked everybody with how a lot English he understands, and he’s left them slack-jawed along with his batting-practice pictures over the mild requirements. When he turned 19 on April 18, his teammates took him out to a dinner that included ice cream, candles and tables of full strangers becoming a member of in to sing “Happy Birthday.”

He is completely loving all of it.

“I made the right choice,” Sasaki stated by interpreter and crew coach Tomoo Yamada. “People are nice to me. Everyone is my friend. I haven’t missed Japan yet. I feel completely settled. I can’t believe it’s been only four weeks. I’m enjoying life.”

Sasaki was a nationwide star in highschool, however his first month in California has largely been crammed with regular school experiences. (Courtesy of Stanford Athletics)

Beyond the proper area fence at Klein Field, previous the scoreboard and a stand of timber, is the Avery Aquatic Center. It’s the place Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky would lap the competitors throughout her temporary time as a Stanford pupil. As finest as anybody can inform, that’s the place a couple of Sasaki’s tape-measure residence runs have splashed down.

Everything about Sasaki is broad and highly effective, a physique rendered in letterbox format. He stands 6 toes and 250 kilos, and his full-tilt swing places each ounce behind the baseball. He hits line drives to left area that dismiss gravity as they streak over the fence. His pull energy is pure astonishment. The ear-splitting hold forth his aluminum bat exceeds OSHA security requirements.

“He looks like Barry Bonds,” Nati stated. “That’s how good he’s going to be. When he runs into balls, he hits them over the mild tower. It’s loopy.

“The ball comes off different. You can close your eyes, hear the sound and know it’s him.”

In a simulated sport at Stanford final Wednesday, Sasaki lined a single off the fence and crushed two homers. According to Trackman, the second homer traveled 422 toes, with an exit velocity of 111 mph.

“Hey Rintaro,” Esquer known as out. “You’ll need to get that one out of the swimming pool.”

“Swimming pool?” Sasaki replied, then nodded and laughed. He knew what the phrases meant. He simply wanted a second to course of them.

Here’s one other phrase to add to his rising vocabulary: Trailblazer.

“Ah, pioneer?” Sasaki stated in English. “Yes, I know it.”

If Sasaki had been drafted by an NPB crew, he would have been below membership management for 9 years. Although Japanese professional groups typically achieve a windfall in posting charges by making their gamers obtainable to MLB earlier than their 9 years are up, there are not any ensures. Sasaki might need been pushing 30 by the time he had a possibility to play in the U.S.

He made it clear: His purpose is to play in the main leagues.

“Ohtani and Kikuchi are already overseas,” Sasaki stated. “I always thought one day, hopefully I can get there. They were big influences for me. Ohtani said, ‘Follow your instinct. That is what you decided. That is a path you need to keep walking.’”

Sasaki’s path — to turn out to be MLB draft-eligible by attending an American college — has nearly no precedent. Rikuu Nishida, a speedy infielder from Sendai, was an Eleventh-round choose of the Chicago White Sox final yr after a standout season at the University of Oregon. But Nishida, who performed two seasons at a junior school upon arriving in the U.S., was not an NPB draft prospect in Japan.

Although there are not any written guidelines that might prohibit an MLB crew from signing a Japanese highschool participant out of its worldwide signing pool, there’s been an unofficial understanding amongst groups towards the follow. (Until 2020, when it rescinded its rule, NPB enforced a ban of two to three years on Japanese gamers who opted out of the draft and signed with a overseas league.)

Ohtani got here shut to setting a groundbreaking precedent as a highschool phenom in 2012, when he suggested NBP groups towards drafting him, saying that he meant to signal with an MLB franchise. The Nippon Ham Fighters took him anyway, then persuaded him to signal by promising to let him develop as a two-way participant.

NPB groups had no such hope of signing Sasaki, who ensured that he can be taken off the NPB draft board by attending an American college. Now he can have two seasons to enhance his conditioning and deal with weaknesses in his sport earlier than turning professional.

The likelihood to develop in much less of a fishbowl surroundings was interesting to Sasaki and his father, as nicely.

“In Japan, people tend to focus more on shortcomings. But in the U.S., they develop individuality,” Hiroshi Sasaki told CNN in March.  “I think this is a very good choice for him.”

It is a selection that entails monetary threat and delayed gratification. As a first-round choose in NPB, Sasaki doubtless would have acquired a signing bonus and incentives value greater than $1 million, plus private companies contracts that would have earned him tons of of hundreds extra. At Stanford, after all, he is merely a student-athlete on scholarship. He additionally can not take part in NIL alternatives whereas on U.S. soil as a result of he is a world participant on a pupil visa.

He would earn a multimillion bonus if he is a first-round choose in 2026, however that is far from assured. Because he is restricted to first base and his defensive abilities are unpolished, his bat have to be compelling. And though he confronted high highschool competitors in Japan, advancing to the Best Eight at the famed Koshien event final yr, he principally hit towards pitchers who threw in the higher 80s.

He is betting on himself. And on Stanford to assist him develop his presents.

“I had the confidence to come to the States,” Sasaki stated. “Right now I want to settle in here, take classes and do well. Take one step at a time. And two years from today, we’ll see where I am at. Getting to the major leagues is not everything for my life. Of course I want to get drafted and get to the major leagues. But I want to keep studying and also be a good person.”

Does that make him a pioneer? He shrugged. That’s for others to determine.

“He’s showing a lot of courage to come here spring quarter, practice on a daily basis with a college team and look so comfortable,” Esquer stated. “He desires to get an schooling and possibly turn out to be an entrepreneur, however he’s additionally instructed us that he desires to go away a mark and blaze a trail for Japanese gamers to come right here and play school baseball. Eighteen-year-old children don’t usually suppose that approach.

“He grew up with Ohtani. He’s seen the standard of what it takes to be great.”

If Sasaki turns into a high MLB draft prospect two years from now, he’s doubtless to be thought to be the baseball participant who upended a complete system — one thing that even Ohtani couldn’t accomplish.

Ohtani, requested about his affect on Sasaki’s determination, stated he merely provided support and encouragement.

“I didn’t really offer any advice or anything like that,” Ohtani stated by Dodgers interpreter Will Ireton. “Making the best decision usually comes from being convicted. I’ve made decisions like that in the past as well. I feel like that’s the decision he made from his conviction.”

Sasaki (proper) has identified Ohtani since he was younger, and has turned to the megastar for recommendation over the years. (Courtesy of the Sasaki household)

Esquer and his coaches nonetheless have hassle believing Sasaki is right here.

Stanford was a late entrant when the recruitment course of started final yr. Sasaki took unofficial visits to Vanderbilt, Duke, UCLA and Cal — he additionally attended a Giants sport at Oracle Park — however didn’t go to Palo Alto. At the time, there wasn’t a spot for him at Stanford, which permits a strict variety of admissions per sport. Then two Cardinal gamers entered the switch portal and a few others de-committed.

Suddenly, Stanford had a spot — and loads of curiosity.

“We were playing catch-up, to be honest with you,” stated Eager, who is the crew’s pitching coach in addition to recruiting coordinator. “In the Japanese culture, because we weren’t involved in the first go-around, we didn’t know if they would take it as a sign of disrespect. We hoped to explain that this is just how it operates here. We liked him all along. And we had a good official visit in January. But I tell you what, I did not think we were getting him.”

The official go to included meet-and-greets with three Stanford alums who’re main leaguers: Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner, Kansas City Royals pitcher Kris Bubic and San Francisco Giants pitcher Tristan Beck. Hoerner drew on his expertise enjoying with Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki in Chicago whereas encouraging Sasaki to be sure that he might proceed the routines which might be essential to him.

“You can do your best to put yourself in someone’s shoes, but it is a totally different experience what he’s going to be doing,” Hoerner stated. “The adjustment to school, even for myself, driving 45 minutes from the place I grew up, was actually completely different. Doing that with a language barrier, taking courses, and the entire schedule is a lot.

“In pro ball, you’re in charge of your own career at the end of the day. But a lot of times in college, you’re pretty much subject to whatever the program believes in. So I just felt it was really important to stress that whatever it is that makes him tick as a player, he’d be able to continue to do that. Because not all college programs would really be (OK) with that. And I did feel like Stanford, with the staff that they have, are there for whatever the players need.”

Esquer knew what was at stake, even past including a potential impression hitter. If Sasaki selected Stanford, it will improve the college’s already prestigious worldwide model. And if Sasaki grew to become the first arrival that breaks a dam, maybe the pipeline of expertise from Japan would lead immediately to the Sunken Diamond.

Sasaki’s go to was thorough however not ostentatious. The crew employed a taco truck to cater a post-practice get together. Several gamers remarked that they noticed Esquer carrying a swimsuit for the first time. Mostly, Esquer hoped to convey that Sasaki would have each useful resource to develop as a participant and individual.

“My promise to you is that we’re going to take care of your son,” Esquer instructed Hiroshi Sasaki. “We’re going to coach him and help him get better, but also we’re going to make sure he’s well looked after.”

Beck laughed when he recalled his recruiting go to greater than a decade in the past. No taco vehicles, no conferences with trustees, no coaches in fits. But he remembered one factor somebody instructed him that may have resonated with a world celeb like Sasaki.

“One of the adages I heard before I enrolled was, ‘Don’t worry about being bothered, because the most famous people here don’t play sports at all,’” Beck stated. “The most attention-grabbing individuals right here aren’t even athletes, even with individuals like Andrew Luck strolling round campus.

“He did mention his favorite team was the Giants, which is sweet. I made sure he said that a couple more times so Nico and Kris were sure to hear it.”

Sasaki was projected to be a high choose in the NBP draft after hitting a nationwide file 140 residence runs in highschool. (Courtesy of Stanford Athletics)

You may assume that Sasaki desires to turn out to be the subsequent Ohtani. But there’s one other residence run hitter that he has spent his life emulating.

“I don’t know how far I can go, but I respect Barry Bonds a lot,” Sasaki stated. “(To) one day get to be as close as possible to Barry Bonds — that is my goal.”

Bonds, and never Shohei?

“Ever since I was in elementary school, I was watching Barry Bonds,” Sasaki stated. “Ohtani was one in every of my mentors. Sometimes I talk with him and get recommendation. But Barry Bonds was my final purpose since I used to be little. Don’t misunderstand. I respect Shohei and Barry Bonds each.

“When Bonds got in the batter’s box, people expected to see something big or something special. I want to be like that.”

Rintaro Sasaki, my goodness.

Wish we might’ve seen this swing in NPB however I’m assured he’s going to blossom into a celebrity. pic.twitter.com/ifkODlbc2g

— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) April 30, 2024

For now, Sasaki simply desires to be a good teammate and slot in. He is taking a language abilities class with different worldwide college students, however his different two programs, together with an introductory class in human biology, are in English. He understands greater than he can communicate, however baseball tends to function with its personal common language. When Yamada, the coach, returned to Japan for a week, Sasaki appeared to handle simply superb. If Sasaki will get caught on a phrase, bullpen catcher Michael Fung, who is minoring in East Asian Studies and hung out final yr finding out in Stanford’s abroad program in Kyoto, is normally in a position to assist bridge any language hole.

Sasaki declined Esquer’s provide of a full-time interpreter, saying he would chip away at the language barrier quicker with the assist of his teammates.

“It fired us up to hear that,” stated Lavin, who has turn out to be one in every of Sasaki’s extra regular companions. “Because it seems he’s really bought into the team’s culture and being around us. He’s a normal teammate here. You can’t tell from talking to him that he’s super famous. He has not brought it up once, how many people know his name.”

Still, Sasaki is doubtless to draw crowds very quickly. The phrase is simply starting to trickle out that he is on campus. At a latest sport at Santa Clara University, two dozen Japanese baseball followers waited exterior the ballpark so they might meet Sasaki and take photos with him. Stanford officers are gearing up for extra consideration, extra media and extra followers.

For now, his competitors is restricted to these spirited intrasquad video games. A couple of his teammates already really feel snug sufficient to interact in a little bit of sarcastic banter. And they’ve realized that Sasaki is already snug sufficient to dish it proper again.

“We were at Oregon State and I’m watching him flick home runs the other way,” Lavin stated. “So I stated to him, ‘Ah, it’s simply the wind.’ Then the wind died down and he began hitting pull-side homers over the stands.

“And he looked at me and said, ‘It’s not the wind.’”

The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and Patrick Mooney contributed to this story. 

(Top picture: Sean Reilly / The Athletic; Photos: Courtesy of Stanford Athletics)