The period between the start of the calendar year and the beginning of camp is often wrought with bold proclamations and lofty goals as ambition helps power players through their final winter preparations.
So Yomiuri Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe's recent declaration that he's set his sights on a 50-homer season sounds less like a goal and more like the type of wishful thinking a January working out in the Guam heat can produce.
A 50-homer season is not something to be taken lightly in Japanese baseball given the fact it's something so few have been able to achieve. In the history of Nippon Professional Baseball, only eight players have been able to hit 50 or more home runs in a single season.