On this episode of RINTARO, Daron Vaught introduces a member of Stanford's baseball program labeled by the coaches as a "blessing in disguise" when recruiting Rintaro Sasaki and helping him acclimate to his new life in the U.S.

Rintaro Sasaki's teammates (and others) also explain the moments at which they realized just how famous the Japanese superstar is and the level of celebrity he brought with him to Palo Alto.

RINTARO is part of the D1Baseball Podcast Network and is hosted and produced by Daron Vaught.

Art by Kev Roché (kevdraws.com)

Music by Kevin MacLeod, Incompetech

After a very extended hiatus, Shotgun Spratling is back on The D1Baseball Podcast feed with his Sidearm Delivery episodes. In this first episode of 2025, Shotgun heads virtually up to Corvallis to chat with Oregon State head coach Mitch Canham.

Later, D1Baseball national writer Mike Rooney joins the show to talk about the diaspora of the former Pac-12, getting his take on Oregon State as an independent as well as where the other former Pacific-12 programs will fit in their new conferences. We’ll also take a look at some of the intriguing mid major programs on the West Coast this year, including UC Santa Barbara looking to continue its dominance in the Big West.

After committing to Stanford, Rintaro Sasaki enrolled early and began his collegiate experience in the spring of 2024.

On this episode of RINTARO, Daron Vaught talks to Rintaro's Stanford coaches and teammates about their first impressions of the Japanese phenom as a player, as well as their observations of his adjustments to life as a student-athlete in Palo Alto.

RINTARO is part of the D1Baseball Podcast Network and is hosted and produced by Daron Vaught.

Art by Kev Roché (kevdraws.com)

Music by Kevin MacLeod, Incompetech