Because of his rare talent and physical ability, Yoshio Itoi had been tipped to be a guy who could make a big impact on the top team of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters for the last couple of years.
The ballclub's faith has paid off in the 2009 season, and he is, if not rapidly, gradually shooting to stardom.
Itoi has played in the majority of the team's games so far (48 of 55), and lived up to the high expectations of manager Masataka Nashida and Hokkaido Nippon Ham. Although he has yet to reach the regulation number of at-bats, he has batted .331 with 29 runs batted in and six home runs through Sunday's games.