[Seibu] Sophia University’s Yuma Masaki, the sixth draft pick in the development team, signs a provisional contract. “I want to learn everything from scratch,” he says with shining eyes.
Sports Hochi
2025.11.5(水) 17:08
Seibu Yuma Masaki pitcher (22) of Sophia University, the 6th overall pick in the developmental draft, was in talks with the team at the Shinjuku Prince Hotel in Tokyo on May 5, and informally accepted a 3.5 million yen deposit and a 4 million yen annual salary (both amounts are estimates).
He was born in Yokohama, but spent his childhood and high school years in the United States due to his father’s work. He is the first player to be drafted by the NPB in the 109 years since the founding of the school’s baseball team, and having learned pitch technique almost entirely on his own in college, he says with shining eyes that after joining the team, “I want to learn how to use my body. I think I need to learn basic things like warming up as well as pitching form, so I want to learn everything from the ground up.”
The right-handed pitcher, whose first challenge will be to win a contract under contract, said enthusiastically, “It’s really just the beginning, and I’m still at the bottom and I have to make an impression, so I want to cherish each and every day and prepare well. I want to contribute to Sophia University and pass that on properly to my juniors. I want to give my juniors a really good environment to work in, so I hope I can give back in a way that I can.”
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