Yokohama High School's Shoki Oda announces his intention to play in the US Major League Baseball, 157 kg right-hander, ``become the best pitcher in the world'' - High school baseball

Pitcher Shoki Oda (18), a third-year pitcher at Yokohama High School, held a press conference at the school in Yokohama on the 15th and announced his intention to play in the American Major League without playing in the Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB). ``I decided to take on the challenge on American soil in order to achieve my ultimate goal of becoming the world's best pitcher and playing on the world stage,'' he said.

[Professional baseball draft conference related news]

Oda is a right-handed pitcher whose weapon is a fastball with a maximum speed of 157km/h. At the professional baseball draft meeting held on the 22nd, the No. 1 pick was considered the favorite. It is extremely unusual for a promising player to challenge the major leagues without going through the NPB.

Oda explained, ``The biggest difficulty is the language barrier. By being exposed to real English from a young age, we will be able to communicate when we reach the major leagues.'' He is expected to sign a minor league contract with a major league team and aim for promotion to the major leagues. One of his options was to attend a university in the United States.

He contributed to winning the selection tournament last spring when he was a sophomore. He made it to the top four at this summer's national championship tournament, and after the tournament was selected to represent Japan's U18 high school team.