Quality hitters never change the kind of bat they use.
The belief of one craftsman is "that it's something all good batters have in common."
Hayato Sakamoto, 31, of the Yomiuri Giants has been using the same kind of bat since his second year with the club.
Sakamoto has the 2,000-hit milestone -- a mark among good hitters -- within his sights this season, thanks in part to his bat, for which he has a strong attachment. It's an item he sees as "part of me."
From the start of training camp through the Japan Series last year, Sakamoto used 30 bats. That's all.
According to the bat manufacturer who handles Sakamoto's bats, the average player goes through about between 70 and 90 each year.
Some hitters even switch out the bats before they break, but the manufacturer said Sakamoto's figure of 30 is incredibly low.
Sakamoto rarely has his bats broken. In one season, the figure was even as low as 20.
An employee for sports goods store SSK Corp., which has been handling Sakamoto's bats since the player was a rookie, even vouched for the Giants star.
"Among players in recent years, he definitely uses the lowest number. It's proof that he's a good hitter."
Sakamoto uses a bat that's 86.3 centimeters long and weighs 890-900 grams, viewed as a type that's actually not easy to handle. The grip end is about 1 millimeter thinner than typical bats, and its balance can easily impacted by just a slightly different hand placement.
His deft bat control is the skill he needs to square the ball up.
Sakamoto doesn't seem to be under stress with this particular bat, showing that the two work well together.
He broke tens of bats through trial and error in his initial few seasons, but he has developed as a hitter.
The more numbers he puts up, the more people who believe in the "Sakamoto model," which manifests the skill level of players.
Among teammates, Kazuma Okamoto and Ginjiro Sumitani have been using the bat, as have players on other teams, including Nobuhiro Matsuda of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Shogo Akiyama, now of the Cincinnati Reds in the major leagues.
Sakamoto is always the first player to be seen on the Giants bench before games. He carefully polishes his bats, and he gives the ones that crack to children or young players coming up.
One time, the frustration of making an easy out forced Sakamoto to break a bat himself. He subsequently asked the manufacturer to apologize to the craftsman who made the bat.
Sakamoto has a deep devotion to and affection for his tools of the trade, something that also serves as proof that he is top a player.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
