“Throws a ball you’ve never seen before.”
Japanese pitcher Senga Kodai (30), who is about to make his major league debut, made a strong impression during his first live pitching. On the 20th (Korean time), the New York Mets’ spring camp in St. Lucie, Florida, USA. He threw 29 pitches against six top hitters. He overwhelmed batters with his fast ball and his main weapon, a forkball. It is a game that has been called ‘Ghost Fork’ since the days of the Softbank Hawks.
He struck out Pete Alonso (29), a slugger who posted “40 homers and 131 RBIs” last year, on a swing. He pulled out the bat by throwing a ‘ghost forkball’ that suddenly disappeared in front of the batter’s eyes. The falling angle was different from the forkballs thrown by other pitchers.
Alonso praised, “I understand why it got that nickname. It’s a ball I haven’t seen in the U.S., so there’s no one to compare it to. He suddenly disappeared and I don’t even know the trajectory of the ball. I’m glad Senga is a player on our team.” 토토사이트
Jeff McNeill, the main hitter, also said, “It’s the first time I’ve ever had a ball like that. Not only the breaking ball, but also the fast ball is powerful.” McNeil is a slugger who recorded a batting average of .326 last year and ranked first in batting.
Only one hit out of six was hit. His fastball reached a maximum speed of 158 km/h. Senga threw a maximum of 164 km and an average of 150 km in Japanese professional baseball.
In an interview with the Japanese media after pitching, he said, “The last forkball I threw to Alonso went in properly. I really tried to focus on throwing it.” It is said that he gave the hitter the type of pitch and did not throw it.
Senga has been active as Softbank’s ace for a long time. Last year, he went 11-6 with a 1.94 earned run average and a career record of 87 wins, 44 losses, 1 save and 20 holds -2.59. Last winter he signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the New York Mets. He joined as a foster player and achieved his dream by obtaining FA (free agent) qualifications that allowed him to advance overseas. He dropped out of the Japanese national team in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) to adapt to the major leagues.