*This content was translated by AI.
Shortstop famine is emerging as a hot topic in Japan ahead of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March. Public opinion is being felt that Genda Sosuke (33), an infielder with a history of infidelity, is the only shortstop on board.
Japan's high school baseball dotcom, a media outlet that covers a wide range of Japanese baseball news, said on the afternoon of the 25th, "I'm curious about the final members of the WBC. Genda is the only professional shortstop on Japan's WBC roster that has been confirmed. Genda's defense is Japan's best, but he didn't do well in the previous season with a hit. It seems likely that additional members of the shortstop position will be called up," he wrote.
In fact, Genda was a player who had firmly maintained his position as a shortstop in the Japanese national team. He was called the "defensive fairy" for his unrivalled defense range and stability, and he was responsible for Japan's backdoor in each international competition. Starting with the Premier 12 held in 2019, he actually joined the national team's roster for four consecutive tournaments, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 2023 WBC and 2024 Premier 12.
However, Genda's batting performance in the 2025 season was not good. Genda, who played in 104 regular league games, was disgraced as a career low with a batting average of 0.209 (67 hits in 320 at-bats) and 0 home runs and 20 RBIs. The on-base plus slugging rate (OPS), an indicator of attack productivity, was very low at 0.544.
Analysts say that such poor performance is the aftermath of privacy issues. Genda's alleged affair was revealed through Japanese media around December 2024. In response, Genda said on his SNS, "I apologize for causing great inconvenience and concern to baseball fans and officials with my rash actions. In addition, he posted an apology saying, "I deeply reflect on my wife for giving me a painful and sad heart."
Genda responded, "The contents of the report are different from the facts, but I talked directly with my wife about this incident. I decided to move forward together as a couple. I will try to repay those who have caused trouble by fixing myself with baseball. I will do my best to restore my faith through play until the end of my baseball life," he added. After one storm, Genda ended up with the worst performance in his ninth season.
Hirokazu Ibata (51), the coach of the Japanese national team, has usually expressed his strong confidence in Genda, saying, "He is by far the best in Japan in defense and is the right person to center the team's infield." In particular, he did not hide his expectation that Genda's rich experience in international competitions will be an example for young players in the national team under generational change. Coach Ibata, who was a shortstop in the Chunichi Dragons during his active days, seems to have a big intention.
However, contrary to Ibata's full confidence, the eyes of Japanese public are cold. Japanese fans said, "Why is it Genda. Players with privacy issues are not suitable for samurai Japan. It is not an overwhelming performance," and "I hope you will make a selection that values the future rather than poor performance, including the irrationality problem."
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*This content was translated by AI.
