CS final round" playoffs started with a bang and set a record for the first time in history! Yokohama's 25-year-old rookie smiles: Fortunately there is wind

Naruse Shuto. (Taken from Sankei Sports)

[Reporter Lin Youchen/Reporting from Taipei] In the fourth game of the final round, DeNA, ranked third in the regular season, defeated Hanshin, which had won two consecutive league championships, 8:5. Yokohama won 4 consecutive victories and entered the Japanese competition for the first time in 2 years.

The series MVP was awarded to main pitcher Hidego Maki, and infielder Shuto Naruse, who was drafted fifth in the draft, hit a two-point shot that was ahead of the game in the 4th inning, which was his first career hit including the regular season.

In the playoffs and the climactic series, Naruse was the first rookie in the history of the Yokohama DeNA team to hit the starting point; and he was also the first rookie in the Central League to hit the first career hit in the playoffs including the Japan Series.

Naruse laughed and said, "I have never hit many home runs in my life, so I was not sure whether the ball would fly in. Fortunately, I took advantage of the wind and finally flew in smoothly."

Japanese media reported that Naruse, who is 175 centimeters tall and weighs 75 kilograms, mainly plays shortstop. He played 28 games in the regular season and had a total of 73 at-bats, but he still failed to hit a home run. However, in an important battle that determined the ticket to the Japan Series, he hit a surprising "career first home run."

Japanese media also mentioned that Naruse knew that "if you don't produce results, you can't become a regular starter." Therefore, he focused on weight training and worked hard to overcome his own problems.

Naruse said: "For me, every game is a test. I am still at the stage where I have to show my position in order to stay in the team."