In 2006, at about the same time the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters were watching Tomoya Yagi, who would later be named Pacific League Rookie of the Year, and a right-handed fireballer named Yu Darvish develop on the mound, another pitching prospect was at a crossroads.
Yoshio Itoi, once a promising hurler signed in 2002 out of Kinki University, had hit a wall in his quest to pitch in the professional ranks. So in 2006 the Fighters told him it was time for a change, either in position or profession.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.