Japanese outfielder Suzuki Seiya (28), who plays for the Chicago Cubs in the American Major League, is in perfect shape by gaining weight to compete in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Japanese media ‘Chunichi Sports’ reported on the 21st that Suzuki joined the Arizona spring camp of his team, the Cubs, in a state where he had increased his off-season weight by 10 kg.
After spending a career high season with a batting average of 0.317 and 38 homers and an OPS of 1.072 at the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in the 2021 season, Suzuki succeeded in advancing to the US Major League. He realized his dream of becoming a big leaguer by signing a large contract with the Chicago Cubs for a total of 85 million dollars (about 110 billion won) over 5 years.
The first year of his major league debut was a batting average of 0.262, 104 hits, 14 home runs, 46 RBIs, and 9 steals in 111 games, and an OPS of 0.770, which was not bad, but it was difficult to give a generous score.
Because of this, Suzuki devoted himself to strong off-season training and raised his weight to 106 kg. He opted to increase his strength last year as he struggled physically as he lost more weight in his big league debut season than he expected.
The batting form was also slightly changed. He is working hard to refine his leg kick with his left foot more concisely and target major league pitchers effectively. 온라인바카라
Another reason why Suzuki bites his teeth is his participation in the 2023 WBC. After winning the 2019 Premier 12 and gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he is not hiding his desire to reach the top of the world at the WBC.
Suzuki emphasized that he is looking forward to joining the Japanese national team in March, saying, “All I’m thinking about right now is the WBC. I can play with great players.”
The Japanese WBC national team, led by coach Hideki Kuriyama, was convened in the middle of this month and is undergoing training. The oldest and ace Darvish (37, San Diego Padres) joined the Japanese national team camp early with the consent of his team and is leading the team.