For Daily’s article with pictures, click here
The 2021 draft picks got their new uniforms today. Below is the list of new numbers given out, as well as the most recent and most famous players to have worn the numbers.
Round 1: Daichi Moriki – #20: Kenichi Nakata (2020-21) / Yasuhiko “Dump” Tsuji (1968-74)
“I hope to become the greatest pitcher in the entire world. I’m ready to play for these fans and be part of a team that is competing for the pennant. I idolize and hope to become like Shohei Ohtani. As a person and as an athlete, he is just so awesome. I want to emulate him and get closer to who I can be, one step at a time. I’m setting a lofty ambition for myself with the hopes that I can always aim for that goal, while also not forgetting to show appreciation for those around me. That’s the kind of player I want to become. I started playing baseball because of Kyuji Fujikawa. I look up to him but also feel like I need to surpass what he did on the playing field. I am going to do things my way but also aim to make as much of an impact, if not more, than Kyuji-san did.”
Round 2: Yuto Suzuki – #28: Taiki Ono (2017-21) / Yutaka Enatsu (1967-76)
“This number has been worn by some great players, historically. I will do my best to be worthy of wearing #28 for the Tigers. I can’t wait to face off against Munetaka Murakami (Swallows). I want to see how good my stuff is, and I know that I can’t win if I can’t beat the best players in the game. I hope to be able to contain hitters like him with my fastball.”
Round 3: Takuma Kirishiki – #47: Riku Kawahara (2019-21) / Masaaki Koyama (1958-63)
“I grew up idolizing Kimiyasu Kudo. I hope to inspire kids to enjoy the game of baseball. As I watched the Tigers this past year, it was plain and obvious that young guys like Teruaki Sato, Masashi Itoh and others really helped the team win games. As a rookie, I want to be able to have at least as much of an impact as they did. I really want to help the team in my first season. Ever since I was young, people had problems with my last name, Kirishiki, so I was just called ‘Kiri.’ It would be great if people called me that here as well.”
Round 4: Ukyo Maekawa – #58: Fumiya Araki (2011-21) / No one
“I hate losing, no matter what I am doing. So if it means swinging the bat more than everyone else, I’ll do it. I’m serious about making progress right from my first year. I will blossom, and I will shine.” He also expressed an interest in eventually being given the “right” to wear #6, which has famously belonged to legends like Tomoaki Kanemoto and Yutaka Wada.
Round 5: Hidetaka Okadome – #64: Kentaro Kuwahara (2015-21) / Kentaro Sekimoto (1997-2001, eventually wore #44, then #3)
“I’m hoping to stay healthy in my first year, and I really want to focus on putting up good numbers as well. Hopefully I will get a chance to throw in important situations.”
Round 6: Hiroshi Toyoda – #61: Atsushi Mochizuki (2016-21) / Sadayoshi Fujimoto (1961-68, as manager)
“I’ve always played in pinstripes: high school (Tokai Sagami), university (Kokusai Budo), and even in industrial league. I feel a strong connection with pinstripes. I’m so glad to be able to keep wearing pinstripes. I had a good experience at Koshien in high school when I hit a home run in front of a full house. I’d like to be able to do that again as a pro.”
Round 6: Hayato Nakagawa – #68: Shunsuke (2013-21) / No one
“It’s my goal to be catcher for Samurai Japan, so that is what I’m going to do. I hope people will see me as someone who has all the tools and is a clutch hitter.”
Dev. Round 1: Ryo Itoh – #125: Kosuke Fujitani (2019-21) / No one
“I know about the 3 pitchers that were known as JFK (in the 2000s), and hope to be part of a historical trio like that myself. I look up to Jeff Williams and Suguru Iwazaki and want to talk to Iwazaki-san about his daily routines and how he is able to perform so well in such pressure-filled situations.”
Concerning the new guys, skipper Akihiro Yano said, “It’s great that they all have such high goals and dreams. Moriki already envisions himself as a world-class pitcher. If these guys can reach their targets, we will be a pennant-winning team.”
In other uniform news, the team unveiled a new road uniform for the 2022 season, and it’s got me and a lot of gradient grey haters excited:
Also, two players have changed numbers for the upcoming season. Takumi Akiyama wore #46 but will now don #21 (which belonged to the retired Minoru Iwata), and Taiki Ono will try to channel his inner-Rafael Dolis, going from #28 to #98.
Good luck to all the guys as well as the coaches who will be helping shape them as pros!