The first half of professional baseball was over in the midst of the corona. Orix’s Brandon Dickson and giant Justin Smoak have decided to leave the group in the middle of the season. Both were reasons for “I want to cherish time with my family.”
How do foreign players who play in the foreign land of Japan face each other in a stressful situation? This time, Scott McGough and José Osuna of Yakult talked about their hearts.
Yakult’s McGough celebrates his third year in Japan
In February of last year, McGough, who was in his second year in Japan, was making good adjustments at the campsite in Urasoe, Okinawa.
“Since the first year, I have never been confused about Japanese mounds, balls, strike zones, and how to approach Japanese batters, so I felt confident that I could enter the season.”
At that time, the video of “Diamond Princess” anchored at Yokohama Port was repeatedly broadcast on TV, but the sky in Urasoe was blue and the air was laid-back.
McGough was accustomed to life in Japan and had many things to look forward to.
“Every city in Japan is beautiful, and people are really kind and take care of the details. I was particularly impressed by the tempura shop in Hiroshima that Aoki (Nori Aoki) took me several times. It’s a very Japanese space with an old lady over 80 years old. I love going out for dinner with my teammates on an expedition and talking about baseball and private things. “
However, on April 7, a state of emergency was announced in seven prefectures, including Tokyo, and the situation changed completely. McGough also felt that “it was getting harder.”
“The opening was postponed and the practice was off once every two days, so it was very difficult to make adjustments. It wasn’t a pain to spend at home because I had just born a child in my daily life. Of course, other people I had the same troubles as, but I didn’t hesitate to wear a mask, refrained from going out, and prevented it well. “
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