Tsunami Survivor Sasaki Overcame Tragedy To Reach MLB

AFP/APP

Tokyo: Roki Sasaki, now one of Major League Baseball’s brightest new stars, has overcome incredible personal tragedy to get to where he is today.

The 23-year-old pitcher, who has agreed to join the Los Angeles Dodgers, is considered one of baseball’s most promising young talents. His decision to leave Japan for MLB this winter has set off a fierce bidding war among teams.

Sasaki’s journey to the big leagues has been marked by deep adversity. At just nine years old, the 2011 tsunami devastated his hometown of Rikuzentakata in northern Japan.

A 9.0-magnitude earthquake triggered a series of massive waves that swept away his home and claimed the lives of his father, Kota, and both of his paternal grandparents. Sasaki, along with his mother and two brothers, lost everything, and the family was forced to seek shelter in a nursing home before relocating to a nearby city.

In the wake of this tragedy, baseball became Sasaki’s outlet for healing. “I was happiest when I was playing baseball,” he shared years after the disaster. “I could lose myself in the game and fight hard against the tough times. I’m glad I started playing baseball.”

Sasaki was at school when the tsunami struck, and he and his classmates survived by fleeing to higher ground. The disaster, which took the lives of nearly 18,500 people, also triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster, further shaking the nation.

Reflecting on the experience, Sasaki later said, “You never know when the life you take for granted can disappear that’s the scary thing.”

Despite the hardships, Sasaki’s talent flourished. He rose to prominence as a high school star and was selected as the number one pick in the 2019 Nippon Professional Baseball draft by the Chiba Lotte Marines. Already on MLB teams’ radar, he cemented his status as one of Japan’s top pitchers when he threw a perfect game at the age of 20 in April 2022.

Now, as he prepares to make his MLB debut with the Dodgers, Sasaki’s journey stands as a testament to resilience and the power of sport to heal even the deepest wounds.