Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki Wants to Be Greatest Japanese Pitcher of All Time
Roki Sasaki is the newest name to join a long list of pitchers to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but his goal is bigger than just being a great Dodger: He wants to be the greatest Japanese pitcher of all time.
Sasaki made that clear during his introductory press conference at Dodger Stadium Wednesday afternoon.
More news: Roki Sasaki Reveals Why He Chose Dodgers in Free Agency
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts highlighted Sasaki’s ambition to become the first Japanese pitcher to win a Cy Young award. According to Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe — who also represents Yu Darvish and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — Sasaki expressed from the beginning of the offseason that his ultimate goal is to be the best pitcher in baseball.
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi also confirmed the ambition.
Sasaki could arguably be the most talented of the group, with the potential to compete for the Cy Young award on a yearly basis. His 100-mph fastball and lethal splitter have drawn comparisons to two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom and the National League’s reigning Rookie of the Year, Paul Skenes.
With him being a rookie and only 23 years old, there’s room for improvement which makes him even more impressive. It’s also why he tasked teams with a “homework assignment” that focused on his fastball’s drop in velocity and how it could be rectified.
“I just felt like this homework assignment would be a really good opportunity for me to see how the teams think,” Sasaki said.
Sasaki clearly liked what the Dodgers thought but he also thought highly of the Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres, according to his agent Joel Wolfe.
Read more: Roki Sasaki’s Agent Says It Was a ‘Coin Flip’ Between Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays
“I felt like he could easily go to Toronto,” Wolfe said. “When we left San Diego, I felt like he could easily choose San Diego. When he came here, I really thought the entire process was a coin flip.”
But, Wolfe added: “The Dodgers do have a home-field advantage in Japan.”
Out of everything Sasaki said during his press conference, his opening statment will stick with Dodgers Nation.
“Putting on this Dodgers uniform today,” he said, “I am reminded that my journey is just about to begin, and it makes me feel more focused than ever.”
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Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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