“Everyone on earth, they’d tell us, was carrying around an unseen history”. Those were the words of the former First Lady, Michelle Obama. To top it up, ‘Skill’, ‘Practice’, and ‘Drive’ are the three things that come into the picture, speaking of perfect games. While the first two are a byproduct of the sport; drive comes with context. And they all amalgamate in Rōki Sasaki.

The 2001-born baseball prodigy in the making hails from Rikuzentakata, which was one of the worst affected areas by the 2011 tsunami. Having quite a tough childhood owing to the natural calamity that tore his family apart, his passion and aggression translate into over 100mph hurls on the mound. After all, he chose to, “live each day by turning the page”.

What brought Rōki Sasaki to fame? 

11th March is a day that will live on in the memory of the Chiba Lotte Marines’ star forever. Observing the 12th anniversary of the tragedy, the WBC debutant pitched against the Czech Republic at Tokyo Dome this March. Rōki Sasaki chose to inspire disaster survivors through his performance rather than with words. Achieving eight strikeouts and securing a win for Japan with a score of 10-2 against the Czech Republic, he caught the world’s attention with a pitch that clocked a pace of 164 kph.

This was not a one-off instance. Flashback to April 2022: At the Zozo Marine Stadium near Tokyo, the 22-year-old showcased an exceptional level of skill. The RHP for Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball accomplished retiring all 27 batters without letting an opponent get on base. This brought a 6-0 victory for them against the Orix Buffaloes. Astoundingly, he recorded 19 strikeouts with only 105 pitches, matching a record! 

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That Sunday’s performance at the mound by Sasaki wasn’t just the 16th perfect game in NPB history but also the first in nearly three decades. Based on sabermetrics, there’s compelling evidence to suggest that Sasaki’s dominant showing against the reigning Pacific League champions could be considered one of the greatest pitching performances ever seen. And so started the saga of the pitching phenom. 

Flamethrowing His Way Through Struggles To The Top

Rōki Sasaki became a national baseball sensation after his fastball feat. As someone who was never comfortable speaking in public, he struggled to answer questions from the media about his achievement on the fateful day. “It is not that we forgot what happened to us, but I think we chose not to talk about it since we had no other option but to live each day by turning the page,” he said. 

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Sasaki’s surprising propulsion to international fame after pitching a perfect game had Sasaki’s name trending on X, formerly Twitter, globally for hours. This is quite monumental at a time when Japanese players are making a breakthrough in the US mainstream like never before. Moreover, noticing his flamethrowing prowess, it’s understandable why MLB teams are eyeing him.