This file photo shows Haruto Yokoyama, then of Gifu Commercial & Business High School, getting a hit in a baseball game at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Aug. 17, 2025. (Kyodo)
GIFU, Japan (Kyodo) — A former high school baseball standout who was born with no fingers on his left hand is striving to make an impact in a regional university league.
Haruto Yokoyama recently debuted for Gifu Shotoku Gakuen University and hit a double in his first at-bat of collegiate baseball.
The left-handed batter, who grips the bat with his right hand and supports it with his left when he swings, came to prominence during last summer’s national high school tournament at Koshien Stadium, as he helped Gifu Commercial & Business High School advance to the semifinals.
Yokoyama drove in three runs on five hits in five games during the tournament at the spiritual home of Japanese high school baseball in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture.
He also became one of the tournament’s most memorable players for his fielding as an outfielder. Wearing his glove on his right hand, he catches the ball, holds the glove under his left arm, then transfers and throws with his right hand.
Yokoyama this spring joined the university team, which competes in the Gifu league of the Tokai University Baseball Federation in central Japan.
In his debut game in early April, he came on as a pinch hitter and drove a fastball to right field.
“It was good to get a hit,” he said.
Shinichi Kondo, the university team’s manager and a former pitcher for the Nippon Professional Baseball club Chunichi Dragons, said Yokoyama has been “gradually” adjusting to the differences between metal bats typically used in high school and wooden bats used at the university level.
“He is comparable to other players,” Kondo said.
Having set an immediate goal of earning a regular spot on the team, Yokoyama plans to do his best “to contribute to the team, so we can compete in the national tournament.”