By IAN WILSON
There’s a new homer hero in the Western Canadian Baseball League.
Jake Hiromoto, third baseman with the Swift Current 57’s, has set a new single-season record for long balls in the WCBL.
The 6-foot-2 slugger from Honolulu, Hawaii tied the record – which was set by catcher Riley MacDonald of the Brooks Bombers in 2018 when he blasted 20 round trippers in 33 games – during a doubleheader against the Moose Jaw Miller Express at Mitchell Field on Saturday, July 25th. Hiromoto launched three bombs in front of the home crowd in Swift Current that day to pull even with MacDonald. His pair of homers in the first game of the doubleheader helped give the 57’s a 13-9 win that snapped a14-game winning streak for the Miller Express.
The two teams met again on Sunday, July 26th at Ross Wells Park in Moose Jaw, setting the stage for a record-breaking performance by Hiromoto. During a high-scoring affair that Swift Current won 20-13, the freshman from the University of San Francisco stepped into the batter’s box with one out in the ninth inning against left-handed pitcher R.J. Patrick.
“I got a fastball that I was looking for and I felt like I got pretty much all of it and after that, like, I don’t even know how to explain it or what I was thinking through that moment,” Hiromoto told Joe McFarland of The WCBL Report.
Hiromoto took a moment at home plate to watch the ball sail over the fence in deep left centre field before tossing his bat towards his dugout and embarking on his home run trot.
“I was just so excited, just to see my teammates be happy for me and for us to be jumping up and down right there. That was such a cool moment and one that I’ll never forget,” he said.
The two-run shot, his 21st dinger, simultaneously established new single-season highs in the WCBL for home runs and runs batted in. With his 68th RBI, Hiromoto passed Kaleb Warden’s 66 RBI with the Lethbridge Bulls in 2019 and William Edwards of the Miller Express, who tied that mark last season.
In addition to the power numbers, Hiromoto is having a superb campaign. He currently leads the league in hits (74) and has posted a .396 batting average, .455 on-base percentage and .807 slugging percentage over 187 at bats.
“Jake Hiromoto is having a historic season. But what everyone doesn’t see is how great of a teammate and clubhouse guy he is,” said Austin Dickens, the hitting coach in Swift Current.
“He is the right guy to be put in the history books. Glad I get to coach him during all of this success.”
No. 33 with the 57’s was quick to downplay the records, however, and focus on the team’s pursuit of a playoff spot.
“Through the wins and losses, our clubhouse has been spectacular. Everyone wants to be there, everyone wants to fight for each other. … we’re still in the race,” said Hiromoto.
“We could still make a run. I don’t think that you should count us out yet. I think winning the championship would mean so much more to me than any individual award.”
The 57’s are currently in last place in the WCBL’s East Division, but Swift Current sits 3.5 games back of the Weyburn Beavers, who hold the fourth and final playoff spot, and 4.5 games behind the third-place Regina Red Sox.
The team has nine games left in the 56-game regular season, including two against the Beavers this week.
That gives Hiromoto time to build on his record-smashing season and the 57’s a shot at a postseason berth.
Tales of Baseball 