Last year, the batting champion was temporarily withdrawn from the top at bat.
DeNA’s outfielder Tyler Austin, who has been in Japan for the third year, responded online to the press on the 25th. Until last year, he was hit hard, but he often left the front line due to a breakdown, but now he is studying under an individual coach to improve his flexibility. “I’m in great shape. My physical condition is very good,” he said with a bright expression.
Last year, due to Corona’s illness, he couldn’t come to Japan in time for the opening, and after two games, he was the first starting member in the team’s 18th game against Yakult (Jingu) on April 15. Even so, he finally participated in 107 games, and all of them shook the team’s highest number of 28 home runs, 74 RBIs, batting average .303, and on-base percentage .405. It was this excellent helper who was fourth in the team’s most 78 games. At the Tokyo Olympics in the summer, he fought a deadly battle with SAMURAI JAPAN as the main gun of the US national team and contributed to winning the silver medal.
However, on October 6th, at the end of the season, the player registration was canceled due to a strain on the left calf, and the number of at-bats was just four. In 2020, the first year of his arrival in Japan, he scored 20 home runs, 56 RBIs and a batting average of .286 in just 65 games, but due to his hustle play, there were many breakdowns due to fence collisions and withdrawal from the front.
So now Off has hired a personal coach to increase flexibility and has done a training menu created by his ex-model wife Stephanie Dana. “I’m building a body that doesn’t cause injuries,” he nods. “I’ve been playing hustle all the time, and it won’t change this year, but I want to be careful not to hit the wall,” he said.
It’s okay to win the title as long as there is no breakdown, such as taking the lead in the battle for the top hitter at one point last year, but he showed interest, saying, “The goal is for the team to win. No.
In contrast to last year, he has already arrived in Japan on the 15th of this month and will participate in the 1st Army camp in Ginowan City, Okinawa from February 1st. Director Daisuke Miura also praises the main gun, including his personality, as “a player who is a foreigner but can serve as a model for Japanese people.” From this season, a new three-year contract with an annual salary of 200 million yen (estimated amount) (the fourth year is a team option) has been signed. “The decision to extend the contract was easy, because I and my wife both love the city of Yokohama,” he laughed.
(Hirohisa Miyawaki)
