Yasuyuki Kataoka, who has joined the Yomiuri Giants in a free-agent deal from the Seibu Lions, said Monday he hopes to steal enough bases to put the two-time defending Central League champions in contention for a Japan Series champion in 2014.
"If I can put myself in the race for the stolen-bases title, I can contribute to helping us win the Japan Series," the 30-year-old Kataoka, who had stolen-bases titles from 2007-2010 in the Pacific League, said at a press conference.
"I want to keep a frame of mind in which I am aggressively aiming for the next base."