A legend who enjoyed a golden age with the Saitama Seibu Lions and became the first switch hitter in NPB history to make a triple three (.30 home runs and 30 stolen bases). Giants drafted 1st place in 2016: Leading hitter in the Central League (first infielder in history), Golden Glove Award. 2019: Central League MVP, led the team to victory as captain. 2020: Became the youngest right-handed hitter (at the time) to achieve 2,000 total hits. 2021: Contributed to winning the gold medal as a member of the Japan baseball team at the Tokyo Olympics.
![[NPB amazing shortstop]Hayato Sakamoto & Kazuo Matsui](https://www.jp2021.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/1766054165_maxresdefault.jpg "[NPB amazing shortstop]Hayato Sakamoto & Kazuo Matsui")
JP2021.COM - Tokyo Olympics 2020.