Kyle BonaguraApr 15, 2025, 07:25 AM ET
Shut
- Covers school soccer.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Attended Washington State College.
STANFORD, Calif. — About 45 mins sooner than the Stanford baseball crew would play its domestic opener towards Washington in overdue February, a bunch of about 10 males congregated at the steps close to the Cardinal dugout down the first-base line at Sunken Diamond.
It used to be a scene that would possibly have gave the impression standard sooner than a Primary League 3-hitter, however on this case the autograph seekers have been yelling the title of a 19-year-old freshman, who had simply made his school baseball debut the former week.
“Rintaro! Rintaro!”
They have been hoping to get the eye of faculty baseball’s subsequent large factor: Rintaro Sasaki, a power-hitting legend of Eastern highschool baseball, who rewrote the report books with 140 domestic runs. Throughout his highschool profession, Sasaki performed for his dad, who years previous additionally coached Los Angeles Dodgers celebrity Shohei Ohtani and Los Angeles Angels pitcher Yusei Kikuchi on the similar college. For years, it used to be assumed in Japan that Sasaki would take the similar course Ohtani did by way of going No. 1 general within the Nippon Skilled Baseball draft and temporarily ascend to a roster within the nation’s height skilled league.
As a substitute, he made up our minds to chart a brand new trail, by way of changing into the 1st height prospect to ever bypass the NPB in desire of faculty baseball in the USA.
“I am not positive if I will have to say this, however I feel this resolution used to be exceptional, so it almost definitely stuck other people by way of marvel,” Sasaki stated thru a translator in early February. “After all, the trail I wish to take almost definitely has its execs and cons. However an important factor I do not wish to let pass of is ensuring I put my all into what I wish to do.”
Over the last month and a part, Sasaki’s advent to university baseball has had its ups and downs. He is hitting .267 with 4 domestic runs in 135 at-bats, and whilst the ones don’t seem to be the numbers of a generational celebrity, they align with what Stanford trainer David Esquer specified by the best way of expectancies with ESPN sooner than the season.
“We’ve got had first-round draft choices or avid gamers who’ve left right here as first-round draft choices who weren’t dominant in an instant upon shedding on a school diamond,” Esquer stated. “So, the expectancy that Rintaro simply turns into this dominant determine in an instant is just a little unfair, and that is the reason now not what we think of him.
“I am nicely conscious that baseball is a adventure.”
For Sasaki, it is a adventure he absolutely controls — one he hopes will lead him to the MLB.
“This lifestyles belongs to me, so I don’t need others to come to a decision it for me,” he stated.
How did Rintaro Sasaki finally end up at Stanford? ESPN
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL in Japan is a huge deal. Suppose highschool soccer in Texas, possibly larger.
The yearly nationwide match, regularly known as the Summer season Koshien, is among the greatest carrying occasions within the nation. It’s televised nationally, and all through the overall two-week degree, it frequently attracts kind of 50,000 lovers at Hanshin Koshien Stadium. For long term execs, it is a ceremony of passage, with the likes of Ichiro Suzuki, Yu Darvish and Ohtani — and with reference to each different long term MLB celebrity — having participated of their adolescence.
A Eastern highschool season is kind of 80 video games, and when Sasaki’s college, Hanamaki Prime, complicated within the match his senior 12 months in 2023, he had already smashed the nationwide domestic run report (in about 240 video games over 3 years). That feat positioned him within the highlight in some way that had infrequently — possibly by no means — been observed for a baseball participant his age in Japan. Media adopted him round. He used to be spotted in the street. NPB stardom used to be positive to practice, it gave the impression.
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However overdue within the season, Sasaki began serious about his goals in a different way.
“The instant I noticed that coming to the U.S. is an possibility hit me round my senior 12 months of highschool,” he stated. “I wasn’t considering an excessive amount of about it on the time. It used to be my final season, in order that used to be the place all my focal point used to be.”
If he went the standard course and made himself to be had for the NPB draft, Sasaki most likely would had been fast-tracked to the NPB and earned the identical of a number of hundred thousand bucks a 12 months. Media endorsements would have adopted. It could had been an enviable place for almost each different highschool participant in Japan.
After the considered enjoying school baseball within the U.S. did pass his thoughts, regardless that, Sasaki could not shake it. He preferred the speculation of the journey, and a top-tier American college schooling used to be interesting.
One of the vital early hypothesis about Sasaki’s resolution to play school baseball used to be that it used to be associated with the pathway from NPB to MLB. Had Sasaki long past the Eastern professional course, he would had been required to attend 8 years sooner than changing into a loose agent to signal with an MLB crew. The extra not unusual trail for height Eastern stars to make their approach to MLB, on the other hand, is throughout the “posting device,” which permits MLB groups to bid on Eastern avid gamers, then negotiate with them. If a freelance is agreed upon, the Eastern crew will get a proportion of the worth of the participant’s contract (typically between 15-20%).
The Eastern crew is in a position to use its personal discretion to come to a decision when — if in any respect — to make a participant to be had thru the program. After Ohtani used to be drafted No. 1 within the 2012 NPB draft, he performed 5 seasons in Japan sooner than touchdown with the Los Angeles Angels by the use of the posting device.
Sasaki’s possible pathway will glance a lot other. He’s going to be subjected to the similar regulations as American avid gamers who play at four-year colleges and will likely be eligible for the MLB first-year participant draft in 2026.
However the potential of a shorter trail to the massive leagues, Sasaki stated, used to be now not a motivating issue.
“Doing what I sought after to do for myself is the principle explanation why I got here right here,” Sasaki stated. “Nobody is aware of what’ll come subsequent. If issues pass nicely, possibly [MLB] may occur. However I additionally would possibly now not pass. The most important explanation why I got here is to play baseball right here at Stanford whilst additionally learning, gaining revel in from all sides. I got here right here since it will be a excellent revel in for me. That is how I believe.”
Having grown up gazing Ohtani and Kikuchi play for his dad, Sasaki used to be uniquely situated to know his choices.
“Even now, I wish to catch as much as [Ohtani] up to conceivable, so I exploit him as motivation to paintings exhausting,” Sasaki stated. “My dream is to enroll in [Ohtani and Kikuchi] after all, who’re enjoying within the MLB, and stand at the similar box to both play in conjunction with them or face off towards them.”
When he made the verdict to return to the U.S., Sasaki used to be hooked up with Junpei Tomonaga, who now has served as an guide and low interpreter for Sasaki and his circle of relatives for the previous 12 months and a part. Tomonaga performed collegiate baseball in Japan and enrolled at USC in 1990, and he stayed within the Los Angeles house ever since. For the previous 25 years, Tomonaga has labored as a liaison between USA Baseball and the Japan College Baseball Federation.
He’s well-versed within the game in each international locations, and he changed into a sounding board for Sasaki to higher perceive the panorama.
“I feel I am extra inspired with him as a human being, now not as an athlete,” Tomonaga stated. “Clearly, he is a height baseball participant. However the factor that inspired me used to be his character. He likes the problem. He did not take the very best trail.”
Sooner or later, Sasaki settled on 4 conceivable colleges: Vanderbilt, UCLA, Cal and Stanford. He visited every of them, and Stanford felt proper.
“There is not any doubt that this is among the global’s height universities,” Sasaki stated thru an interpreter. “Simply merely, I sought after to take a look at being a professional baseball athlete and scholar right here. That used to be the largest explanation why. And naturally, there may be the surroundings as nicely. The surroundings for baseball, together with the trainer and the avid gamers. Enjoying right here with all that integrated, I sought after to are living my lifestyles in some way that may lead me to my subsequent large step.”
At domestic, Sasaki’s resolution used to be met with a blended response.
“Numerous other people appreciate this problem and revered that,” Tomonaga stated. “However other folks say, ‘Oh, he isn’t going to achieve success,’ ‘His persistent will likely be reasonable within the U.S.’ The ones are one of the adverse feedback.”
Sasaki enrolled at Stanford in 2024. Karen Hickey/ISI Pictures/Getty Photographs
STANFORD CATCHER CHARLIE Saum used to be scrolling Instagram when he first discovered of the Legend of Rintaro.
“I noticed a video on Instagram of him hitting a ball almost definitely 500 ft, considered one of his many domestic runs in Japan, and I used to be like, ‘Oh my gosh,'” Saum stated. “After which I discovered he is coming to The usa to play school baseball.”
Saum used to be curious, so he went to Stanford assistant trainer Thomas Keen, this system’s recruiting coordinator, and requested in the event that they have been going to make a run at him. He used to be informed they’d, and a few month later, Saum hosted Sasaki on his campus seek advice from.
“I used to be ready to turn him round, take him to elegance, get breakfast, him and his circle of relatives,” Saum stated. “They are nice other people.”
Esquer had change into conscious about Sasaki most commonly thru social media.
“But it surely used to be additionally Trainer Keen announcing, ‘Howdy, pay attention, how do you want to have this on your lineup?'” Esquer stated. “I’ve nice appreciate for Eastern baseball. My feeling is that the extent of play there is the same as what we are doing right here in lots of senses.
“Then you definately heard about his background, that he got here from the similar college as Ohtani, that his dad coached either one of them. It used to be roughly a no brainer that this is able to be anyone that we really feel that would play and play in an instant in the USA and may surely assist us.”
The Eastern college device is on a special calendar than the U.S., which allowed Sasaki to sign up at Stanford in time for the spring quarter in 2024. He would had been eligible to play for the Cardinal after he arrived, however with all the changes in his lifestyles, it used to be made up our minds to let him acclimate for the remainder of the 12 months versus throwing him in all through the center of the season.
“It simply did not make sense, however we felt it did make sense to roughly combine him in all our practices, take him at the highway, get him to revel in what being a member of the crew is like,” Esquer stated. “And we discover out in point of fact temporarily, he is in point of fact aggressive. He took our losses exhausting, and he celebrated our wins simply up to any common member of the crew. So it used to be lovely superior to observe him simply change into a part of it so temporarily.”
Sasaki is conversational in English now — he insisted he habits maximum of his interview with ESPN in English — but if he first came visiting, the language barrier used to be tricky. He grew up taking English at school, however any basis that schooling supplied he did not really feel helped a lot, early on.
“It displays so much about his persona, and the child’s in point of fact courageous,” Saum stated. “When he first confirmed up, the English used to be just a little tough and that made it just a little tricky for him. However I used to be lucky to room with him at the highway final 12 months early on, and we would simply have Google translate conversations backward and forward, and the ones moments have been in point of fact amusing, and it is getting significantly better now. And now he is guffawing and joking round with the fellows and it is nice.”
When it got here to baseball, Esquer stated there wasn’t a lot misplaced in translation.
“That is something you knew in an instant. He understands baseball,” Esquer stated. “We threw him proper in the course of practices — going over to bunt defenses and simply assignments — he used to be very adept. You inform him that that is what we do and that is the place you pass. He choices it up temporarily and communicates as a primary baseman when it is speaking with the pitcher on protection and the ones varieties of issues. He is not a shy baseball participant.”
It used to be additionally obvious in an instant that Sasaki’s presence at the crew used to be going to attract consideration in some way that wasn’t not unusual in school baseball. He could be identified at airports and autograph seekers would means him.
“The ones other people knew the place he used to be all the time, in point of fact,” Saum stated. “We might get off the bus to visit a sport and there could be a crowd of other people looking ahead to him.”
However Sasaki used to be additionally intent on adjusting to lifestyles within the U.S. clear of baseball. He is eager about his research. He rides his e-bike round Stanford’s sprawling campus. He orders double-doubles and animal-style fries from In-N-Out.
“The primary time we took him [to In-N-Out] he attempted Root Beer for the 1st time, I will by no means fail to remember the glance on his face, jaw dropped,” Saum stated. “He is like, ‘That is my new favourite factor.'”
Conversely, his teammates hunt down his approval on native Eastern fare.
“There is a large number of sushi puts round right here in Palo Alto, and I will ask him like, ‘Howdy, is that this a great place? And he will be like, ‘No, do not pass there,'” Saum stated. “He offers me the drop at the excellent sushi puts to get proper on. He is aware of his stuff.”
Sasaki hit his first domestic run towards Duke on March 15. Stanford Athletics
BEFORE THE SEASON started, Sasaki used to be named Baseball The usa’s Preseason Nationwide Freshman of the 12 months. It is a speculative honor, in fact, however it added to the already sky-high expectancies for Sasaki.
Over the 1st few weeks of the season, his efficiency used to be encouraging. He hit safely in 11 of his first 13 video games and had 14 RBIs over 11 video games. However the vaunted home-run persistent took a while to heat up.
In the end, Sasaki went backyard within the seventeenth sport of the season, doing so two times towards Duke in an 11-1 win on March 15 (the second ended the sport because of the 10-run rule). He homered once more towards Duke the following day and a couple of days later towards Cal, however he has since discovered himself mired within the first stoop of his school profession.
IT’S A WALK-OFF RUN-RULE VICTORY!@rintarosasaki connects for his 2nd of the day to win it 11-1
» ACC Community Additional | #GoStanford percent.twitter.com/rxFK50uhon
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) March 15, 2025
Sasaki has simplest 7 hits in his previous 53 at-bats and simplest two RBIs in that reach. Throughout the hot stoop, Sasaki has observed his batting reasonable drop from .378 to .267. It has coincided with a troublesome stretch for Stanford as a crew, too.
After it broke into the highest 25 with a scorching 15-3 get started, Stanford (18-14, 6-12 ACC) has taken a step again in ACC play. The crew misplaced 11 of its previous 12 convention video games, having been swept by way of Georgia Tech, Virginia and Cal. The Cardinal did take the final sport over top-10 ranked Clemson over the weekend, and they’re hoping to construct extra momentum towards Notre Dame this Friday.
However after all, it is all a part of what Sasaki knew could be a difficult adventure.
“I am sporting Japan’s pleasure on my again, and I am getting a large number of consideration,” Sasaki stated. “So I would love to play with my head up excessive.”
