Where I Am Now: Pro Baseball Player Itsua Ikhine

The sights I imagined are still a long way off.

I want to experience so much that I have yet to see.

Before the season started, I felt my physical condition and my skills had reached a point where I could perform at my best.

I headed into this season with the hope that, finally, I would see things in the first team that I had never experienced before.

I carried that expectation with me as the season began.

A month with the first team

Starting from the February training camp, I began to seriously try my hand at playing the outfield.

I put in a lot of practice and faced my share of struggles, but I did manage to achieve my goal of making the opening roster for the first team.

However, I only lasted about a month there.

I only appeared in nine games.

Back on the farm team, I realized it all over again.

Right now, I simply lack the strength to remain a regular in the first team.

What does it take to get consistent playing time in the first team?

How can I grab another opportunity?

I spent every day searching for those answers.

Seeing the challenges and my own strengths

This year, I was able to get a more realistic sense of what life in the first team is like.

It was a season where I felt the gap between my current level and the reality of the first team quite clearly.

When you start to see what you are missing, it is only natural to feel impatient.

I would identify a problem, try to fix it, fail, and then feel discouraged all over again.

That was the cycle I often found myself in.

Even so, things have slowly started to come into focus.

I have learned that my speed—my greatest weapon—has the potential to be effective even in the first team.

To be a regular in the first team, having one standout skill is not enough.

You are required to be at a high level in running, fielding, and hitting.

I have my speed.

But that alone is not enough to secure a spot in the first team.

I need to elevate my level across every facet of the game.

Toward sights I have yet to see

Next season, I want to make the absolute most of my speed.

First, I need to perform at a high level on defense.

Then, I must hold onto any opportunity that comes my way, increase my time at the plate, and produce results.

There is still so much I lack.

The sights I imagined are still a long way off.

Even so, I still want to experience so much that I have yet to see.

To do that, I will continue to build on what I can do, one step at a time.