Mookie Betts Opens Up on Dodgers Signing Roki Sasaki, Meeting With Japanese Star
Mookie Betts has seen the Los Angeles Dodgers make deals this offseason that has filled the rest of the league with envy.
One of those moves involved Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, who was the prize of the offseason.
Betts, who is in Japan this week, revealed he met the 23-year-old Sasaki during the Dodgers’ second meeting with the Japanese star. Betts noted that Sasaki is very reserved, likely due in part to the language barrier.
“I’m going to get him out of his shell,” Betts said to reporters in a quick interview. “I’m going to laugh and joke and get him to really embrace the American culture. I think that will really help him to be the best pitcher on the planet. Because I think that everyone believes he can definitely be the best pitcher on the planet.”
Shohei Ohtani’s voice was the one Sasaki could relate to the most. After all, he was in the same spot years ago. Since then, Ohtani has become the best player in baseball winning Rookie of the Year and three MVPs.
More news: Insane Details on Dodgers’ Winning Pitch to Roki Sasaki Officially Revealed
Sasaki has not yet shared details about his recruitment process or the extent to which Dodgers players influenced his decision. However, within the team, significant credit has been given to the players’ efforts, particularly the impact of Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
“Roki is really, really soft spoken,” Betts said. “You can tell that he’ll love being around Yoshi (Yamamoto) and Shohei. I think that will really help him a lot.”
Another voice that helped Sasaki make his decision was Tyler Glasnow, who is also a client of Joel Wolfe.
“I called my agent and he was like, ‘Oh, I’m with Roki.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll say what’s up,’” Glasnow told the Foul Territory podcast recently.
“If one of your main goals is to become the best pitcher you can possibly be, development-wise, scouting report-wise and all that stuff, I was like, this is the place for you,” Glasnow said, and added that he told Sasaki whether his motivation was “money or winning, this is the best place to grow as a baseball player. That was my message.”
In the end, Sasaki chose the Dodgers and will have the opportunity to chase his dream of becoming the best pitcher in baseball.
More news: Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki Meets LeBron James, Rui Hachimura at Lakers Game, Gets Personalized Jersey
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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