For Makoto Kadowaki of the Yomiuri Giants, the match against the Yokohama DeNA Baystars on the 9th (hereinafter Korean time) has become an unforgettable memory. He swung a fire bat with 3 hits in 4 at-bats (1 home run), 4 RBI, 1 run and 1 steal, because the opponent for his first home run in his professional debut was Trevor Bauer.
Bauer, who held the National League Cy Young Award in his arms during the Cincinnati Reds in 2020, turned his eyes to the Asian stage when he was unable to play in the major leagues, and succeeded in signing a contract with the Yokohama DeNA Baystars. Bauer, who made his first appearance of the season against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp on the 3rd, recorded 98 pitches, 7 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 9 strikeouts and 1 run (1 earned) in 7 innings, showing off his pitching worthy of a Cy Young Award winner. However, the match on the 9th was a nightmare.
Bauer collapsed with 103 pitches, 11 hits (3 homers), 8 strikeouts and 7 runs (6 earned) in 6 innings against the Yomiuri Giants on the 9th. The player who defeated Bauer was none other than Kadowaki Makoto. Kadowaki stepped on the professional stage after being nominated by Yomiuri in the 4th round of the 2022 rookie draft, and the game on the 9th was the 5th starting game.
Kadowaki literally beat Bauer. Kadowaki scored an infield hit in the direction of the first baseman by targeting Bauer’s 139km changeup outside the 6th pitch in the second inning with a score of 2 out and 2nd base in a 1-1 match. At the time, the initial decision was out, but after a video review, the decision was changed to safe, resulting in a timely hit with one RBI.
After that, the activity continued. Kadowaki went to bat once again with a second out and third base chance in the top of the fourth inning with a 2-1 lead, and this time, as Bauer’s 138km changeup on the second pitch was driven into the middle of the strike zone, he vigorously turned the bat and fired a timely one RBI hit toward the front of the right fielder. Multi-hit and two RBIs in two at-bats.
Even in the 6th big inning, Kadowaki was the main character. With a two-run home run by Tagumi Oshima (Yomiuri), they ran away to 5-1 with one out and one base in the top of the 6th inning. The 137km changeup on the 4th pitch that Bauer threw to Kadowaki became a misfire that was driven back to the middle. Kadowaki did not miss it, leading to a wedge two-run home run that went over the right wall. Kadowaki played the ‘game of his life’ with 3 hits in 4 at-bats (1 home run), 4 RBIs, 1 run and 1 stolen base, including his first home run in his professional debut and a stolen base in the final 먹튀검증.
According to Japan’s ‘Sankei Sports’, coach Tatsunori Hara paid attention to Kadowaki, who showed a vigorous practice swinging a bat early in the morning at spring camp, and after putting his name on the opening match, he played the best game on the 9th.
The media paid particular attention to the fact that a player with an annual salary of 8.4 million yen (approximately 82.32 million won) defeated Bauer, who earned 28 million dollars (approximately 37 billion won) during his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Based on the annual salary of the Dodgers, Bauer is about 462.5 times more than Kadowaki, and even considering the current $3 million (about 4 billion won), Bauer is paid 50 times more. ‘Sankei Sports’ said, “I fed Bauer a shot with a proud full swing.”
Kadowaki, who grew up in the hands of a single father, smiled and said, “I was honestly surprised to be able to hit a home run from such a great pitcher.” could not hide