Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki could be baseball's next big thing

Japanese pitcher¹ Roki Sasaki could be baseball's next big thing

Twenty-year-old Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki is creating quite a buzz. He stunned² the baseball world this month by almost throwing two perfect games in a row.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Major League Baseball fans continue to marvel³ at the Japanese pitching and hitting sensation Shohei Ohtani of the LA Angels. But there's already another next big thing emerging in Japanese baseball. He's a 20-year-old pitcher who stunned the baseball world this month. NPR's Tom Goldman has that story.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE⁴: Last Sunday, superhuman Roki Sasaki was merely human. He pitched five innings for his Chiba Lotte Marines. He struck out four, walked three, gave up two runs, but got the win. A solid effort, but compared to what he'd done the previous two weeks - utterly⁵ pedestrian.

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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: (Non-English language spoken).

GOLDMAN: On April 10, Sasaki pitched the Japanese Major League's first perfect game in 28 years. He was breathtaking, in not allowing a single opponent to get on base, striking out 19 of the 27 batters⁶ he faced. Afterwards, Sasaki had a press conference on the field. His questioner asked, many fans are hoping there's more to come. What do you say to them?

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ROKI SASAKI: (Speaking Japanese).

(APPLAUSE)

GOLDMAN: "I'm going to keep trying my best," Sasaki said, "to pitch just as well the next time out." A young man of his word, a week later, Sasaki pitched perfectly⁷ again into the eighth inning. But opposing batters were making good contact and his pitch count was getting high. So his manager, who has protected Sasaki like a rare jewel, pulled him from the game.

Jim Allen lives in Japan and has written about baseball there for nearly 30 years.

JIM ALLEN: The thing that shocked me the most was the lack of outrage⁸.

GOLDMAN: The outrage of sitting a pitcher when he's this close to a perfect game, considered a once-in-a-lifetime achievement. But in this case, it was taking out a pitcher on the cusp of a second perfect game in a row. With Sasaki, Allen says, the calculus⁹ of once in a lifetime has changed.

ALLEN: The way he pitched on April 10 - we got a sensation that this is not the end, that this is the beginning, and that this is something that is a very real possibility every time he pitches.

GOLDMAN: Sasaki has been on baseball's radar¹⁰ since he was a high school senior, throwing close to a hundred miles per hour. But managers and coaches have brought him along slowly, not wanting to burn him out or overwork a young man still physically¹¹ developing. His first year professionally, he didn't pitch. His second year, appearances were limited. And now, Year 3...

ALLEN: I've been watching all his starts. They're just electric.

GOLDMAN: Allen says Japanese media want to know everything about Sasaki, including his sad past. His father and two other relatives died when their home was washed away in the 2011 tsunami¹².

ALLEN: He said, you know, it's something that will never be erased¹³ from my memory. And I want people to know that this is still a thing, you know, that people are still unable to return to their homes.

GOLDMAN: But Allen says Sasaki doesn't wear the tragedy on his sleeve and handles the constant questions about his dad in a calm and understated way, kind of the way he mows¹⁴ down opposing batters - with an effortless and efficient delivery that belies¹⁵ the ferocity of his blazing fastball and confounding split-finger pitch. It's unlikely he'll make the jump to the U.S. for several years, which is why Major League scouts¹⁶ are okay with a take-it-slowly approach. After Sunday's win, Sasaki was temporarily deactivated¹⁷ - more protection. But when he makes his next start, batters are sure to shudder¹⁸ while fans dream of what's next.

Tom Goldman, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF TOE'S "DUAL HARMONICS")

1 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

2 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

3 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

6 batters   

n.面糊（煎料）( batter的名词复数 )；面糊（用于做糕饼）；（ 棒球） 正在击球的球员；击球员v.连续猛击( batter的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pitcher has beaned as many as three batters in this game. 在这？热？投手投球竟打中了三个击手的头。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• A storm batters the ship. 一场风暴袭击了这条船。 来自辞典例句

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

8 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

9 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。

10 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

11 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

12 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

13 erased   

v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 mows   

v.刈，割( mow的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I saw him make mops and mows at Mary. 我看见他冲着玛丽做鬼脸。 来自互联网
• My mother mows the grass on the street once a week. （我妈妈每星期都在街上修一次草坪。） 来自互联网

15 belies   

v.掩饰( belie的第三人称单数 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎

参考例句：

• His appearance belies him. 他的外貌给人以假象。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The modesty of their home belies their great wealth. 他们简朴的家使人们看不出他们拥有巨额财富。 来自辞典例句

16 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

17 deactivated   

v.解除动员( deactivate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；复员；使不活动

参考例句：

• \"The brain can be deactivated. It can be yours to command.\" “大脑计算机可以被停止。如果你下达命令的话。” 来自互联网
• He successfully deactivated a nuclear reactor in a laboratory before meltdown. 他成功停用一个核反应堆在实验室之前崩溃。 来自互联网

18 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。