Everything was strange and strange, he met his old teammate as an opposing team and even hit his first home run in his third year of joining the team

Apr 03, 2025

Everything was strange and strange, he met his old teammate as an opposing team and even hit his first home run in his third year of joining the team
Nihonham Yoshida posed with his first professional home run ball. Yoshida hit a superior one-run home run in the seventh inning against Softbank on the 2nd. Photo capture = Nippon-Ham Fighters SNS



Everything was strange and strange, he met his old teammate as an opposing team and even hit his first home run in his third year of joining the team
Yoshida transferred from Softbank to Nippon Ham through an active draft in December last year. Photo capture = Nippon-Ham Fighters SNS
Not long ago, I met a teammate who was looking at one place in the same uniform as the opposing team. I saw a senior who took good care of me, and there were also close colleagues who joined the team. He said he felt amazing watching the dugout of the away team across the street. He would have wanted to show his good performance and changes in front of his old seniors and juniors.

The game against the Softbank Hawks at Econ Field in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, on the 2nd. Nippon Ham Fighters coach Tsuyoshi Shinjo put Kenko Yoshida (24) in the starting lineup as the first-left fielder. He was acquired from Softbank through an active draft in December last year. Yoshida would have been motivated to play against her old team.

It is his second start after the match against the Seibu Lions on March 30. In the game on the 30th, he went 7th-left and had no hits in 3 at-bats. He played as a pinch hitter against Seibu on the 29th and was out with a grounder to shortstop. No hits in four at-bats in two games.




a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. He couldn't get a hit in the previous three at-bats. All three times, the ball couldn't get out of the infield. A grounder to third base in the bottom of the first inning and a grounder to shortstop in the bottom of the third inning. He got on base in the fifth inning due to a pitcher's error. No hits in seven at-bats in a row.

His fourth at-bat as a leadoff hitter was different. Softbank right-hander Goya Fujii reacted to a 150km/h fast ball in Volkout 1B1S. The pushed ball stretched out and flew over the right fence. The first hit since the transfer is a home run.

Yoshida felt the home run as soon as he hit " He was sent out as a starter, but it was hard to hit. Still, I wanted to go out aggressively rather than thinking of getting a hit. It was a unique experience to travel around diamonds in the first team."




Everything was strange and strange, he met his old teammate as an opposing team and even hit his first home run in his third year of joining the team
Yoshida, who played in 11 games in the first team for two years at Softbank, was included in this year's opening entry. Photo capture = Nippon-Ham Fighters SNS
It will be an unforgettable game for a long time. He joined Softbank in 2023. He mainly played in the second division. He played in 11 games in the first team for two years and shot five in 27 at-bats. He hit two RBIs without a home run. He finally hit his first home run for Nippon Ham in his third year.

Nippon-Ham highly valued Yoshida's potential. A transfer student with little first-team experience was placed in the opening entry. This year's annual salary is 8.5 million yen (about 84 million won).

He made his first team debut on October 1, 2023, and his opponent was Nippon Ham. In many ways, he is deeply connected to Nippon Ham. For Yoshida, a transfer to Nippon Ham could be an opportunity. We'll have to wait and see if it's a real gem.




Nippon Ham, who was trailing by one point, sealed the victory with Yoshida's home run. The two-point lead was held to the end and won 3-1. On the first day of the three consecutive games during the week, he paid off the 1-5 defeat in one day. Yoshida's home run made his first win at Sconfield this season.

Nippon Ham suffered humiliation in the final stage of the Climax Series (Postseason) last year. He lost all three games to Softbank, the league's No. 1 player. It is the team that coach Shinjo said `I felt a definite difference in power.'

It's a very good start.

Everything was strange and strange, he met his old teammate as an opposing team and even hit his first home run in his third year of joining the team
Yoshida during the softbank days. Photo capture = Pacific League TV
Nippon Ham finished first in the exhibition game. As of the 2nd, he has become the sole No. 1 player in the Pacific League with four wins and one loss. It is the lone lead in six years since June 14, 2019. Experts say SoftBank and Nippon-Ham are strong contenders for this year's championship.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.