The Yomiuri Giants received a visit of encouragement on Tuesday from the team's living legend, lifetime honorary manager Shigeo Nagashima, who stopped by during a workout at Tokyo Dome as the squad prepares to start the exhibition season.
The 85-year-old Nagashima, wearing a maroon jacket, navy knit cap and white mask, observed the team for about 2-1/2 hours. Before the start of practice, the players gathered around Nagashima, who exhorted them by saying, "This is going to be a good season," adding, "Win! Win! Win!"
After that, he took a seat and attentively watched batting practice, offering words of advice to two of the Giants' most promising young players, new cleanup hitter Kazuma Okamoto, 24, and rookie infielder Yuto Akihiro, 18.
"He asked me things like what weight of bat I used," said Akihiro, the team's No. 5 pick in the draft out of Tokyo's Nishogakusha High School. "He advised me to make sure I get into good shape."
It marked Nagashima's first appearance at Tokyo Dome since Sept. 27, 2019, when he attended a retirement ceremony for current farm team manager Shinnosuke Abe.
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