Yomiuri Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe made his retirement official on Wednesday, saying he felt ready to step away from the game after he ticked enough boxes this season, his 19th in Nippon Professional Baseball.
As the former captain of the Tokyo-based Central League club, the last box Abe wanted to tick off before calling it quits was to see the Giants clinch the league pennant under Hayato Sakamoto's captaincy.
"We won (the league championship) and I reached the milestone 400th (home run). Seeing Sakamoto become the CL-winning captain took the weight off my shoulders. That's when I decided," said Abe, who wore an orange tie and black suit to his retirement press conference.