"I didn't have a conversation, per se, with the team," Sasaki said through his interpreter at DodgerFest. "It was really up to the team. You know, it was really the team that decided. But for me, my mentality is it's going to be a lot of competition to earn the spot in the rotation, so that's my mindset going into Spring Training."
So far this postseason, whenever Dodgers fans heard "Báilalo Rocky" ring through the loudspeakers, that meant two things were coming - pitcher Roki Sasaki was about to throw some vicious splitters in relief, and a Dodgers win was likely just a few outs away. Sasaki's walkout music has taken on a life of its own, in part because of the only-in-L.A. culture clash that has a sensational Japanese pitcher embracing a Latin club hit as he dominates the postseason.
Roki Sasaki. For now, anyway. At least that's the answer through the rubric of Win Probability Added (WPA, a metric that's been around for a while now and has a lot of utility in putting numbers to the narratives that emerge as the October bracket plays out. How the Dodgers fixed Roki Sasaki After a disastrous MLB debut, L.A.'s new ninth-inning man has unleashed jaw-dropping stuff in October.Jeff Passan "
Sasaki became the first pitcher to throw a perfect eighth, ninth and 10th inning during a series clinching victory. the 23-year-old dominated a stacked Phillies lineup, coming into the game to face MVP candidate Kyle Schwarber, former MVP Bryce Harper and All-Star Alec Bohm. He dispatched all three, and went on to retire the next six batters in a row as well.
