Wladimir Balentien's cousins began calling him "Coco" when he was 4-years old, because it was easier to say than his name, and the moniker stuck.
The way he's swinging the bat, opposing pitchers are now probably busy trying to come up with easier methods of dealing with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows slugger.
After a slump and a demotion, that was preceded by a scorching start, Balentien's bat is catching fire again. He's hit six home runs since June 27, three coming against the Chunichi Dragons on Wednesday alone.
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