Baseball may be ‘America’s Past-Time’, but the sport is actually more beloved in Japan. It’s the longest running imported sport in the country, and has beaten homegrown sports like sumo wrestling and judo in popularity polls. It’s left its mark on Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Yakuza series too, with every game featuring a Batting Center for the player to practice their swings.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life may be the peak of this love for baseball as, in Chapter 4, he’ll be press-ganged into coaching for the underperforming Setouchi Warriors Team via a baseball management sim mini-game. It's up to the player to get these proverbial Bad News Bears to the top by training, playing, and finding more top-level players. But which ones are the best of the best? Here are some suggestions.
10 Right Fielder: Maetani
The Setouchi Warriors are a small team, so they could benefit from a getting a pro. Maetani is good at running and batting, though his area of expertise is as an outfielder. He’s a gold level player with strong stats and doesn’t come cheap as a result.
He can be found by the Ryunan Shrine dressed in a fine suit, and he’s simple to recruit. Just give him ¥1,000,000, and he’s part of the team. Unfortunately, Yakuza 6 is stingier with the cash than Yakuza 0. Earning a million yen means playing Clan Creator, Mahjong, or going Spearfishing a lot to rake in that cash.
9 Center Fielder: Kuramoto
Luckily, Kuramoto is much simpler to recruit. He’s also a gold level outfielder like Maetani and can be found hanging around Yonetaku. The guy’s happy to join the team so long as Kiryu gets him a nice, big bottle of sake as a present.
Treats like that can be hard to find in Onomichi, as there are fewer stores compared to Kamurochō. Go to the pharmacy of all places to buy some sake, then give it to Kuramoto. No cash grinding or mini-game playing required.
8 Third Base: Hatakeyama
The first, but not last, patron of Snack New Gaudi is another gold-level outfielder. He’ll do in any of the fielder positions before the player can recruit Maetani. After that, he’s best off looking after third base. Don't read too much into that.
Recruiting him means getting to know him through the Bar Chat mini-game. Earn his trust by talking to him enough, and it'll lead to the ‘What’s the Matter with Kids Today?’ substory. Pick the right responses for each interactive chat to complete the substory and make him a member of the Warriors.
7 First Base: Gori-san
For a gold-level third baseman, he seems better suited for third base than Hatakeyama, but he does well at any of the base positions. He may be quicker to recruit too, depending on how well the player can swing at the Batting Center back in Kamurochō.
First, they have to have progressed up to Chapter 6 or beyond. Then they have to complete 3 Home Run courses at the Batting Center. Then this big guy will come along and challenge Kiryu to a game. Hit 7 or more Home Runs to impress him enough into joining the team.
6 Designated Hitter: Genie
Genie’s supposed to be another gold-level basemen. However, most players have found he works better as the team’s Designated Hitter due to his powerful swing stats. It’s either him or a certain stoic, dragon-like figure. While he still works as a first or third baseman, if he’s better with the bat, give him the bat.
He also sounds easy to recruit too. Go to the taxi stand in Southeast Onomichi, then give him a Sushi Set from Poppo to earn his trust. The problem is that Onomichi doesn’t have a Poppo branch. Players will either have to have one in their inventory already, or wait until they can head back to Kamurochō to get one for him.
5 Shortstop: Gen-san
Need a good Shortstop? Gen-san from Snack Bar Gaudi is the best in the game, helping out his fielder teammates with aplomb. Every team member still needs training once recruited. With Gen-san and the other gold standards, the rewards for investment come quicker than with anyone else.
He doesn’t require sake, sushi, or other items either. Just plenty of attention the next time Kiryu goes to the Bar for a Chat. Befriend him enough to start the ‘Tech Support’ substory, pick the right responses, and finish it off to add Gen-san to the Warriors.
4 Catcher: Yoshida
This guy is the manager of the Kamurochō Batting Center, so it’s no surprise recruiting him requires going back there to hit some balls just like Gori-san. Go to Kamurochō after Chapter 6, beat 3 Challenge Courses, then Yoshida will ask Kiryu a question (give any answer) and challenge him to a trial course.
The pitches are fast, but the player can be faster. Knock 5 of them out for home runs for Yoshida to offer a selection of rewards. Select ‘I want you on my baseball team’ and he’ll do just that. He’s a gold level catcher, so put him in that position to catch batters out.
3 Left Fielder: Kiryu
After constantly visiting the Batting Center since 2005, the Dragon of Dojima is a natural at baseball. Whether the player is just as good depends on how well they’ve practiced that mini-game. For every status screen and simulated game, there are parts where the player has to bat, and there are no FAQs giving away the other team's pitches.
Nonetheless, Kiryu has strong enough stats to be an asset to the team in nearly any role. If the player didn’t have a Poppo Sushi Set to recruit Genie, Kiryu will also work as a Designated Hitter thanks to his powerful swings. Otherwise, he’s best suited as a Left Fielder to aid the others.
2 Second Base: Kase
This gold-quality second baseman fits his role like a glove. Recruiting him is simple enough too, if a little odd. Go to Ryunan Shrine in Chapter 4 to find a girl, Misa, arguing with her manager. This will start ‘The Fools Who Dream’ substory, where Misa is being forced to break up with her boyfriend to follow her dreams of becoming a pop idol.
Said boyfriend is, of course, Kase. After some shenanigans involving a hare-brained scheme, thugs, and some fisticuffs, Kiryu will complete the substory. Once the Baseball game opens up, Kiryu can find him hanging around the shopping center in a gray overcoat. Talk to him and he’ll join the team.
1 Pitcher: Gorchov
Finally, any team worth their salt needs a good pitcher to catch out any hotshot batter with a sneaky curveball. The best of the bunch is Gorchov. Like Gen-san, Gori-san, Maetani and Kiryu, he’s a key player to focus on for training and arranging XP. He starts off strong, and only gets stronger. Like Kase, he’s recruited by completing a substory.
Once players finish the first level of Spearfishing, the fisherman will be pestered by Gorchov. Help him out by finishing off the Delicious Octopus in the second level, and Gorchov will join the team. To make this easier than it has to be, players can finish the final Bar Chat substory to get the Kiwami Speargun or buy the Ahab’s Revenge from the Black Market for ¥300,000. They're more powerful and have a faster firing rate than the default equipment.