Trailblazing Japanese high school slugger Rintaro Sasaki said Tuesday he chose to attend Stanford University in California because of its standing as both a good baseball school and an academic powerhouse.
"I want to become good enough so that starting in two years, I'll be selected in the pro drafts in both Japan and the United States," Sasaki told a news conference at Hanamaki Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture.
"I want to achieve a balance between that and my studies, and broaden my possibilities as a human being."