News
Yutaka Tamaki Hanging Tough in Japan
Jiwon Bang
03/14/08
Nippon Professional Baseball’s preseason games started in Japan on Feb. 23 as the young prospects who played in last year's Hawaii Winter Baseball campaign prepare to battle for a spot in the Major League rosters.
According to the NPB official website, 2007 Waikiki Beach Boys’ Yutaka Tamaki (Hanshin Tigers) who won the league’s Pitcher of the Year title, appeared as a reliever in Hanshin’s Feb. 23 opener against the Orix Buffaloes. The 21-year-old right hander made a solid debut, allowing no hits and no runs in an inning. A third-year pro out of Wakayama, Japan, Tamaki bolstered his pitching skills and confidence in Hawaii, and is looking to win a spot in the Tigers’ bullpen this season.
On the following day, North Shore’s lefty Shinya Nakayama (Orix), who led the HWB league with 6 wins, entered in relief against Hanshin, pitching three scoreless innings and surrendering only a walk and no hits. Nakayama, in his third year as a pro, is considered one of the candidates for
Orix’s starting rotation this season.
Takumi Kobe of the Chiba Lotte Marines (Honolulu Sharks, 2007) also had a stellar debut in the preseason opener on Feb. 24. The six-foot, three-inch left handed slugger hit a home run in his first at bat against the Yokohama Bay Stars. Kobe, who had a disappointing performance in Hawaii last year with a .222 average and no home runs, is looking to make the Marines’ 28-man Major League roster by the time the Pacific League regular season opener rolls around on March 20.
