The Tokyo Yakult Swallows’ Tetsuto Yamada has been full of surprises since earning the Central League club’s regular second base job a year ago, and his home run in the second game of the All-Star Series last Saturday shows we never quite know what to expect from him.
The Kansai native made a reputation for himself as a slugging shortstop for Osaka’s Riseisha High School in the finals of the summer national high school championships at Koshien Stadium. Yet the park had not been a favorite of his as a pro — something that may have changed on Saturday. Three days after his 22nd birthday, Yamada took Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles right-hander Takahiro Norimoto out to straight-away left field.
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