Nippon Ham Fighters Kotaro Kiyomiya (24) hit a very rare home run.
Kiyomiya went 1-for-4 with a double, a home run, one RBI and one run scored while starting at second base against the Chiba Lotte Marines on April 8 at Escon Field in Kitahiroshima City, Hokkaido, Japan.
Stepping to the plate in the bottom of the first inning to lead off the game, Kiyomiya swung at a low, 145-kilometer-per-hour fastball from Chivarode starter Mima Manabu. The high fly hit the top of the center field fence.
However, Kiyomiya’s shot, which would normally have returned to the ground, hit the glove of center fielder Kyota Fujiwara, who chased the ball all the way and made a jumping catch, bounced back and eventually cleared the fence. After seeing the ball hit the fence, Kiyomiya sprinted home, smiling as the ball cleared the fence.
Japanese media outlet Full Count wrote, “Kiyomiya’s bizarre home run is the talk of the town. Kayomiya’s fourth home run of the season hit the outfielder’s glove and went over the outfield fence. Fans reacted enthusiastically, saying, ‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ and ‘It’s a rare play.'” Full Count highlighted Kiyomiya’s home run.온라인바카라
The full count reads, “Kiyomiya’s pitch hit the glove of center fielder Fujiwara, who jumped in front of the outfield fence. If it hadn’t hit the glove, it would have been a direct hit over the fence. In a way, Kiyomiya was helped by the beast. Kiyomiya described the situation, saying, “I ran around the field with a somewhat embarrassed look on my face and laughed with my teammates in the dugout.
The “home run assist” trended on Japanese Twitter. “Fans were amazed by the play, with reactions ranging from ‘it’s a home run assist,’ ‘I’ve never seen a play like this before,’ ‘he got lucky,’ ‘Fujiwara was disappointed…it was an unexpected assist,’ and ‘Kiyomiya’s home runs always have a beautiful trajectory,'” Full Count reported.