Shintaro Fujinami (29, Oakland), who drew attention as a rival of Shohei Otani (29, LA Angels) in high school, showed off his voluptuousness from the first day of joining the team.
On the 18th (Korean time), Fujinami held a press conference held at the club’s office in Oakland, California, USA.
In his high school stage, Fujinami was a national level player comparable to Otani. He became an ace in his sophomore year and led Toin High School to two consecutive victories in the spring and summer tournaments in his junior year. His career record at Koshien was 1.07 ERA in 76 innings. In contrast to Ohtani’s high school days, he was an unfinished stand-by who was anxious about his first pitch.
In this way, he was nominated by four clubs, the most in the 2012 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) rookie draft, and joined Hanshin, but the situation reversed on the professional stage. Fujinami played in 189 games over 10 seasons due to difficulties in pitching and self-management, recording only 57 wins and 54 losses with an ERA of 3.41. 메이저놀이터
On the other hand, Ohtani, who joined Nippon Ham, doubled as a pitcher, winning three pitching crowns in 2015 and the Pacific League MVP in 2016, and succeeded in advancing to the major leagues in 2018. Since then, he has continued to work both pitching and hitting in the United States, and has been on the road to success, winning the American League Rookie of the Year in 2018 and the American League MVP in 2021.
However, on the 14th, Fujinami also successfully entered the major leagues by signing a contract with Oakland for 3.25 million dollars (about 4 billion won) for one year through the posting system. His natural joining press conference brought up a story about his old rival, Ohtani. Fujinami’s Oakland team and Ohtani’s LA Angels belong to the same American League West division, so many head-to-head matches are expected.
He was pleasant even when asked about Ohtani. Fujinami, who communicated through the club’s official YouTube channel, responded to a fan’s request, “Please strike out Otani,” and responded, “I will avoid all matches with Ohtani,” making the scene a sea of laughter.
“Ohtani is one of the best players in the world. I was surprised to see him receiving attention in the US,” he praised, adding, “Japanese fans will be looking forward to our match. I hoped for a reunion.” In addition, he left a deep impression by introducing himself in English for 1 minute and 20 seconds, saying “My name is Shintaro Fujinami. Shintaro is difficult, so please call me the Fuji of Mt. Fuji”.
Last year, he went back and forth between the start and the middle, but in Oakland, he plans to challenge first as a starter. According to CBS, an American media outlet, Fujinami earned $100,000 each for the 5th, 8th, and 10th innings, $150,000 each for the 13th and 18th innings, and $200,000 each for the 22nd and 25th innings as a starting pitcher. receive A total of 1 million dollars.
Fujinami said, “I am confident in my fastball and splitter,” and expressed his aspirations, “My goal this year is to contribute to the team by rotating the starting rotation for a year without injury.”