{"id":41223,"date":"2025-03-14T11:02:26","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T11:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=41223"},"modified":"2025-03-14T11:02:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T11:02:26","slug":"watch-seiya-suzuki-take-batting-practice-with-a-freaking-samurai-sword","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=41223","title":{"rendered":"Watch Seiya Suzuki take batting practice with a freaking samurai sword"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki recently took some swings in the batting cage\u2014just not with a bat. In preparation for next week\u2019s Tokyo Series, the Japan native stepped into the right-handed batter\u2019s box holding a samurai sword. What followed was every bit as spectacular as you\u2019d imagine\u2014and then some.<\/p>\n<p>Suzuki took a few controlled swings, cleanly cutting through baseball after baseball. In a brief clip shared on social media, his final slash sent a halved ball bouncing toward the Cubs&#8217; videographer\u2014though considering his weapon of choice, the result could have been much more intense. And just to clarify, Suzuki connected on every pitch.<\/p>\n<p>The video highlights Suzuki&#8217;s precision while also contributing to the Cubs&#8217; promotional efforts for their upcoming opening series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 18 and 19 at Tokyo Dome.<\/p>\n<p>Many might expect the sword to simply deflect the baseballs, but instead, it sliced them clean in half. It was a remarkable display, almost like something out of a child&#8217;s fantasy\u2014combining the precision of a sword with the speed of a baseball.<\/p>\n<p>Fans quickly took to the comments to share their reactions, with many highlighting the impressive nature of Suzuki\u2019s display. \u201cThis is one of the most satisfying videos I\u2019ve ever seen!\u201d one user remarked. Many drew comparisons to popular video games like Fruit Ninja, while others appreciated the anime-inspired themes. The blend of skill and creativity made the promotional effort both engaging and entertaining for international audiences.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Seiya Suzuki&#8217;s first return to Japan since 2021<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3292895\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3292895\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.clutchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Cubs-star-Seiya-Suzuki.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.clutchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Cubs-star-Seiya-Suzuki.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/wp.clutchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Cubs-star-Seiya-Suzuki.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/wp.clutchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Cubs-star-Seiya-Suzuki.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/wp.clutchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Cubs-star-Seiya-Suzuki.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/wp.clutchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Cubs-star-Seiya-Suzuki.jpg?resize=150,84 150w\" alt=\"Watch Seiya Suzuki take batting practice with a freaking samurai sword\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3292895\">Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>Related Chicago Cubs NewsArticle continues below<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Cubs touched down in Japan late on March 12, 2025, fueling anticipation for their upcoming matchups against the Dodgers, as well as exhibition games versus the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants.<\/p>\n<p>For Suzuki, playing official games on Japanese soil holds special significance, as it will be his first time competing there since 2021. As the team prepares to face the Florida Panthers on Thursday, all eyes are on whether Tanev will return to the lineup alongside his usual partner, Jake McCabe.<\/p>\n<p>He shared his excitement about reuniting with Japanese fans and playing official games in his home country again. Facing the Dodgers holds particular significance for him, as he hopes to make a strong impression against such a formidable opponent.<\/p>\n<p>Suzuki enters his return to Japanese soil with high expectations, having struggled at the plate with a .194 batting average despite his past success. Fans in Japan are eager to see their homegrown star regain his form, especially as he prepares to face top competition, including the Dodgers.<\/p>\n<p>The Cubs&#8217; promotional video extends beyond entertainment, emphasizing cultural ties. By featuring Japanese icons like the samurai sword, Suzuki\u2019s performance struck a chord with fans who cherish both baseball and their traditions. MLB underscored its historical relevance, likening it to the legendary Sadaharu Oh, who symbolically employed similar methods to hone his swing.<\/p>\n<p>As baseball history unfolds under the bright lights of Tokyo Dome this March, fans eagerly await Suzuki\u2019s chance to translate his swordsmanship into the high-stakes stage of Major League competition.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chicago Cubs star outfielder Seiya Suzuki returns to Japan and goes to batting practice using a samurai sword.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":41224,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[282,44,592],"class_list":["post-41223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-mlb","tag-seiya-suzuki"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - 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