On a near-perfect California afternoon in June, a few light breezes stirred the eucalyptus trees near Klein Field, better known as Stanford's Sunken Diamond.
Inside the adjacent Mark Marquess Room, named for a former coach who led the Cardinal to two national baseball titles, sat Rintaro Sasaki, Stanford's hulking freshman first baseman. He was giving a postseason update of his history-making decision to be the first Japanese high school star to play NCAA Division I baseball in the U.S.
Stanford exams were just around the corner, and Sasaki was asked to give himself a grade for his first year.
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