It has been 37 games since the opening. A trade of considerable significance has taken place. It is an exchange between the Yomiuri Giants and the SoftBank Hawks.

As always, the focus of interest is on Yomiuri. They sent away an outfielder and two pitchers, receiving one infielder in return. There is much discussion about one of the players they sent away. The talk is about Akihiro Yuto, a 22-year-old utility player.

His height is noteworthy. It varies slightly across profiles. He is listed as either 200 cm or 202 cm. His shoe size is 32 cm. He needs to wear specially made spikes. He fits perfectly with the team name, Giants.

This has garnered him even more love from fans. He made his first-team debut in his second year after graduating from high school (2022). The following year, he was placed in the third batting order. This is the first time since the club's legend, Hideki Matsui. He had the honor of being part of the cleanup trio under 20 years of age.

His season performance was decent. He played 439 at-bats (121 games), just four short of the required plate appearances. He recorded a batting average of .273, 10 home runs, and 41 RBIs.

Ahead of the next season (2024), expectations have risen significantly. He inherited Matsui's number 55. A nickname has also come along: Mega Godzilla or New Godzilla. His salary has also skyrocketed to 32.5 million yen (approximately 3.1 billion won).

However, that was as far as it went. His growth hit a sudden halt afterward. Last year, he spent a long time in the second team. He only played 26 games in the first team. Home runs had vanished, and his batting average stagnated at .261. Eventually, this led him to pack his bags due to the trade.

He is still young. He is only 22 years old. It is an age that fits well with the term prospect. But why? It raises some questions.

There are various discussions around him. Overall, it can be summarized as 'he got on the wrong side of the manager.' This means he fell out of favor with the head coach, Shinnosuke Abe (46). This is mainly due to issues related to his personal life.

Their relationship started off on the wrong foot. Akihiro's first year in the pros was 2021. At that time, Abe was the second team manager. It seems he did not make a good impression during that period.

The 18-year-old Akihiro is a free-spirited member of Generation Z. He would not know about 'Giants time.' The gathering before training must be completed 30 minutes in advance. Yet he repeatedly showed up late, and a stern order fell.

Moreover, Abe, known for being strict, would command punishment (running drills) if they lost in practice games. This was a time when he did not care about societal criticisms. How strict must he have been with such a reputation? "That guy should be sent to the third team." It is rumored that he had been waiting for the chance.

The problem lies in his reckless childish character. He brushes off the severe commands from a coach in a higher position. He even mimics a 'rock+I.' "Huh?" "What did you say?" When overheard, it often sounds like he is speaking informally. Those watching from the sidelines can hardly contain their amusement.

There was once an episode like this. At one time, Akihiro revealed this story himself during an appearance on a TV variety show.

"He made us train extremely hard. We practiced difficult postures repeatedly. It was a tedious cycle. (Manager) Abe counts backward from the side. '10, 9, 8, 7, 6....' You must reach zero to take a break or move on to the next stage. But he uses it as a form of play. '10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5....' Then again, '7, 6, 5....' and it goes on infinitely."

An 18-year-old with such a personality cannot endure it.

"In a moment, I snapped. I shouted without realizing it, 'Hey, don't you know how to count, Coach?'"

The recording studio burst into laughter. But how did the coach actually feel? Perhaps he had never held such an incident against him. That is something no one knows.

Looking back, it is quite ironic. Abe took office as the first team manager in 2024. That was also around the time Akihiro began to disappear from the first team. And now he has been included in the trade list.

Oh, right. About the previous episode. The reckless appearance on the show was on Fuji TV's program called 'Junk SPORTS.' It aired in January 2024.

A few days later, the Yomiuri spring camp began. It was the first training session under Abe's management. However, Akihiro was not on the first team roster.

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